Johan Jordaan (middle) receives the award from Prof Dr Siva Balasundram, Co-chair of the International Agrico2024 Conference.
Johan, also walked away with the Best Presentation Award in the category Educational and Extension approaches in Agriculture, with his paper on Integrated Agricultural Management: Structuring a Work-Integrated Learning Program as an Innovative Education Approach to Enhance Work-Readiness and Employability of South African Agricultural Graduates
More than 130 international researchers from over 30 countries attended the conference with the theme “Integrated Agricultural Management”.
Johan’s study found that decision-making skills, teamwork, information management, communication, problem-solving and the ability to integrate business functions, were the main skills that students found to have improved during their work-integrated learning period.
These employability skills are particularly important in the fast changing and fluid modern world of work where individuals are responsible for their own career development and own life-long learning, says Johan, who has been lecturing for 32 years.
His paper focused on the current curriculum's ability to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. By incorporating a 12-month period of real-world industry experience into students' studies, the programme equips graduates with the skills and confidence needed to excel in the agricultural sector.
This is broadly known as “work-readiness” - the knowledge and skills needed for a specific role within a specific industry and differs from “employability”, which refers to a set of additional generic skills and competencies that are transferrable across industries and can be applied in different contexts.
“This innovative approach to education not only helps students build strong CVs, network with industry professionals, and define their career paths but also provides valuable benefits to the agricultural industry.
“Employers contribute directly to shaping the next generation of agricultural leaders for the industry whilst gaining access to skilled graduates at the same time”, Johan says.