Higher Education Institutions’ Perspectives on Collaborating with Industry Partners for Work-Related Training in African Contexts

Collaboration between higher education institutions (HEIs) and industry is increasingly seen as essential for bridging skills gaps, aligning education with labour market needs, and improving graduate employability. This chapter explores these dynamics through a two-level analysis. First, it reviews policy discourses on work-related training at the African continental level and in three national contexts: Rwanda, Cameroon, and South Africa. Second, drawing on interviews with policymakers, researchers, educators, and HE leaders in South Africa, it analyses HE–industry modes of collaboration to highlight how they are structured and experienced in practice. This chapter identifies several modes of collaboration serving distinct but complementary purposes: bridging skills gaps for graduates, meeting certification demands, enabling professionals to upskill or pivot, supporting unemployed youth through targeted training, and contributing to community development through industry-supported initiatives. Based on these findings, the chapter introduces a typology of HE–industry partnerships, organized along a continuum of formalisation and engagement intensity. By situating the South African case within broader African policy agendas, the chapter contributes to debates on how HE can respond to economic and social development challenges. It also illustrates how HEIs adapt resource-dependent partnerships to navigate funding constraints, community priorities, and labour market demands. The proposed typology offers a practical tool for HEIs and industry to strategically plan and align collaboration modes and levels of engagement with their goals and resources.