Public–Private Partnerships in Vocational Education and Training: Toward Efficient Governance and Enhanced Performance

Résumé

This article synthesizes two decades of research on public–private partnerships (PPPs) in vocational education and training (VET) to clarify how, and under what conditions, PPPs enhance institutional governance and performance. Anchored in New Public Governance and performance‑based management, the study develops an integrative framework that links three core PPP mechanisms—contract governance, inclusive stakeholder participation, and balanced risk‑sharing—to governance outcomes (transparency, accountability, curriculum–industry alignment) and performance outcomes (graduate employment, employer satisfaction, program renewal speed, and efficiency). A systematic narrative review of 47 peer‑reviewed and institutional studies published between 2000 and 2023 spans Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Evidence indicates that PPPs are positively associated with improved relevance and employability when employers co‑design curricula and substantial work‑based learning is institutionalized, and when contracts specify clear objectives, measurable outputs, independent audits, and credible dispute‑resolution provisions. Effects are contingent on contextual moderators: regulatory quality, legal enforceability, funding stability, and digital capacity consistently strengthen the governance–performance link, while narrow KPI regimes, weak oversight, and exclusion of local actors can produce equity trade‑offs or encourage measurement gaming. The review contributes an evidence‑informed conceptual model, an evidence map of thematic incidence, and testable hypotheses to guide future empirical work. Policy implications emphasize designing PPPs as coherent bundles that align incentives with public value, institutionalize inclusive governance, and embed proportionate evaluation systems that combine quantitative and qualitative indicators. The article concludes by outlining a research agenda focused on longitudinal and quasi‑experimental designs, standardized efficiency metrics, and distributional analyses.

Classification JEL: H11, H52, I28, P27

Paper type : Theoretical Research