Experiential Learning for Economic Participation: Assessing Skills Needs for Employability and Entrepreneurship at MKRI
Keywords:
Experiential Learning, Employability, Entrepreneurship, Workforce Readiness, Public Sector Internships, Economic ParticipationAbstract
This study investigates the skills needs of interns at the Moses Kotane Research Institute (MKRI) to inform the de- sign of a structured experiential learning programme that enhances economic participation through employability and entrepreneurship. Although interns enter the programme with academic qualifications, they display varying levels of practical, interpersonal, self-management, and entrepreneurial skills essential for workplace success or enterprise creation. A quantitative survey was administered to 34 respondents, comprising 28 Experiential Learners (82.4%) and 6 Research Assistants (17.6%), capturing self-reported confidence levels, existing competencies, and perceived development needs across interpersonal, professional, and entrepreneurial domains.
Results indicate that interns possess moderate-to-high confidence in teamwork, listening, and responsibility, but lower confidence in verbal communication, conflict resolution, time management, initiative, and opportunity identification. Development needs were highest in entrepreneurial skills, including innovation, planning and man- aging resources, risk awareness, and opportunity recognition. Paired samples t-tests confirmed statistically signifi- cant skills gaps in interpersonal and self-management domains, while entrepreneurial confidence closely aligned with perceived development needs. Priority skills for programme focus were communication (64.7%), teamwork (52.9%), and opportunity identification (50%).
The study concludes that MKRI requires a structured, non-negotiable experiential learning framework, incor- porating targeted skills modules, practical project-based learning, mentorship, and measurable assessments. Im- plementing this approach will strengthen interns’ employability and entrepreneurial readiness, improve research output quality, and contribute to sustainable economic participation. These findings highlight the importance of systematic experiential learning as a tool for capacity building in early-career research and public sector develop- ment initiatives.
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