Start main page content

South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)

The South African Research Chair in Skills Development, held by Stephanie Allais at the REAL Centre, focuses on understanding and improving the relationship between education, training systems, and work.

Now in its second term (2022–2027), the Chair continues to build on REAL’s research legacy by generating insights into how skills systems contribute to economic development, industrial transformation, and improved working conditions.

Drawing on perspectives from the political economy of development and the sociology of knowledge, the research examines the possibilities and limitations of education and training systems in addressing South Africa’s developmental challenges.

Key Areas of Research

Skills for Industry
Comparative research on vocational skills development across manufacturing sectors in multiple countries, contributing to international policy debates.

Skills Anticipation and System Responsiveness
Work with industry partners to strengthen skills anticipation mechanisms and improve responsiveness in education and training systems.

Skills for a Just Transition
Regional research exploring how skills development can support equitable and sustainable economic transitions.

Policy Engagement
Research contributing to national policy development, including the COVID Skills Strategy and the national Skills Dialogues series.

Postgraduate Development
Supporting postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows through mentoring, training workshops, and research development initiatives.

Current Research Projects

Skill Formation Systems in Africa
Comparative analysis of skill formation systems in Ghana, Ethiopia, and South Africa, focusing on industrialization, state dynamics, and labour markets.

Knowledge and Work
Investigating how knowledge is constructed in curricula and applied in mid-level occupations in South Africa.

Higher Education and the Public Good
Exploring the role of universities in shaping skill formation systems and contributing to societal development across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Curriculum and Social Justice
Conceptual work on how education can advance social justice.

Education and Inequality
A meta-review of educational research, in collaboration with the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, examining education’s role in both reproducing and disrupting inequality.

Share