Bridging the Gap: Mapping Project Management Education to Graduate Employability and Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town (UCT)

Niall Naidoo () and Alison Catherine Meadows ()
Additional contact information
Niall Naidoo: University of Cape Town
Alison Catherine Meadows: University of Cape Town

Chapter 19 in Innovative Pedagogies for Entrepreneurship Education, 2026, pp 409-467 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines the role of project management education in enhancing graduate employability and entrepreneurial capabilities through a detailed case study of the Strategic Project Management course at the University of Cape Town. Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s rising graduate unemployment—currently at 11.8%—the study addresses the persistent mismatch between academic training and labour market demands. Using a mixed-methods approach, it combines quantitative mapping of employability, entrepreneurship, and curriculum design variables across assessments with thematic analysis of student feedback. The findings reveal that the course successfully embeds core transversal competencies—such as communication, teamwork, decision-making, leadership, and self-efficacy—through a practice-based pedagogy grounded in real-world client engagement. Structured project templates, iterative feedback loops, and partnerships with companies like Procter & Gamble and Lindt provide authentic simulations of workplace demands. Quantitative results show that 100% of entrepreneurship and 93% of employability variables are addressed across the course, with Assignment 1 being the strongest integrator of entrepreneurial competencies. Over 80% of students reported increased confidence in professional capabilities, and qualitative feedback highlighted high engagement with experiential learning (19.6%), industry partnerships (17.4%), and outcome expectations (10.9%). Nonetheless, the study identifies critical gaps in reflective and metacognitive skill development, particularly in self-awareness, learning orientation, and improvisation, indicating the need for deeper integration of reflective pedagogies and personalised assessment strategies. The chapter proposes an integrative framework that combines project-based learning with entrepreneurial education to support sustainable employability. The course’s model offers a scalable blueprint for universities seeking to bridge the education-employment gap through collaborative curriculum design, industry-aligned assessments, and transformative teaching practices.

Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-07204-7_19

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032072047

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-07204-7_19

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().