<b>The need for professional skills, practices and attitude towards work-integrated learning in higher education</b>

Ndukenhle Mathe ,Strinivasan Soondrasan Pillay ,Sizwe Vincent Mbona

doi:10.24294/jipd11345

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The need for professional skills, practices and attitude towards work-integrated learning in higher education

Ndukenhle Mathe

Strinivasan Soondrasan Pillay

Sizwe Vincent Mbona

Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development 2026, 10(1), 11345; https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd11345

Submitted：16 Jan 2025

Accepted：11 Feb 2025

Published：07 Feb 2026

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Abstract

Globally, Work-integrated learning (WIL) is considered a strategy for equipping students in higher education for the workplace by applying theoretical concepts to practice-based tasks, ultimately gaining the required employability skills. WIL fosters relationships between industries and universities by designing a curriculum that benefits both industry and the community. The implementation of WIL in universities calls for policy innovation in educational governance. Universities need to reform their curricular systems to better integrate WIL, which is in line with the broader trend of educational system reform. This study examined professional skills on WIL, practice on WIL and attitudes towards WIL using a dataset collected from students registered at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), South Africa. A quantitative method was applied to obtain results. This study used an online survey to allow enough time and honesty in responses. A total of 313 students responded to the questionnaire. Data analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29.20. A p-value < 0.05 considered was considered statistically significant. The findings of this sample study showed that approximately 84.7% of students agreed that they are open, innovative, resilient and flexible, especially when things go sideways. About 58.1% of the respondents strongly agreed that WIL and related activities are fully practiced in the curricula from their academic departments. Moreover, 91% of participants agreed that WIL enhanced students’ ability to understand more concepts; helped to understand limitations; helped students to communicate better with other professionals; and increased their ability to understand critical problems. Conclusions include WIL being incorporated into all courses offered in higher education, supported by pedagogical strategies that could enhance employability outcomes for graduates, which may have a positive impact on academic staff workload.

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References

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