Project #NuKapav: a Mauritian service-learning case study

• Published date: 14 March 2018
• Pages: 167-181
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-01-2017-0008
• Date: 14 March 2018
• Author: Sarita Hardin-Ramanan,Loga Devi Balla Soupramanien,David DeLapeyre
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity, equality, inclusion

Project #NuKapav: a Mauritian

service-learning case study

Sarita Hardin-Ramanan

Department of IT, Design and Communication, Charles Telfair Institute,

Moka, Mauritius

Loga Devi Balla Soupramanien

Department of Law, Charles Telfair Institute, Moka, Mauritius, and

David DeLapeyre

Department of IT, Design and Communication, Charles Telfair Institute,

Moka, Mauritus

Abstract

Purpose –Prompted by the enlarging skills gap between the university graduate and the desired employee

in Mauritius, the Charles Telfair Institute embarked its students on the #NuKapav project for an authentic

work integrated learning (WIL) experience which endeavours to fight for the societal inclusion of Persons

with Disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of this service-learning project on the

students from professional, civic engagement and social justice perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach –This research used a focus group methodology, allowing the

23 students who participated on the #NuKapav project to share their experiences.

Findings –This paper recommends that universities in Mauritius and other regional countries consider

incorporating service-learning into their WIL programmes to reinforce graduate employability skills and

encourage good citizenship through lasting allegiance to community causes.

Research limitations/implications –The higher education system in Mauritius operates

within a broader context facing constant mutations influenced by socio-economic and political factors.

As such, research on servi ce-learning cannot be co nducted in isolation but should instead include t he

perspective of variou s stakeholders on both the demand and supply side of community learning projects.

The main limitation of this research relates to its foc us on capturing student par ticipants’perspect ive

alone. Further resear ch is, therefore, recom mended to examine how ot her stakeholders, inc luding

employees, employers a nd community service pro ject supervisors, value s ervice-learning for a mo re

comprehensive view.

Originality/value –The main contribution of this paper is the examination of how service-learning can help

equip graduates with crucial career skills, while bringing an enduring mind-set shift in the future workforce

for sustained commitment to social change and inclusion.

Keywords Employability, Service-learning, Work integrated learning, Social justice, #NuKapav

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

As many Generation Y employees focus more on work experiences in their profession as

opposed to climbing traditional organisational career ladders, a shift from being employed

to being employable is noted (Connell and Burgess, 2006). Careers are becoming less

employer-centric with employees increasingly managing their own job moves and

progression (Acikgoz et al., 2016). Employability (or “work-readiness”) is, therefore, key to

both secure and maintain a strong position in the twenty-first century labour

force (Acikgoz et al. , 2016; Ferns and Lilly, 2016; OECD, 2011). From their first step into

the workforce, graduates are expected to readily apply their acquired knowledge and

skills for rapid organisational productivity (Ferns and Lilly, 2016). Nevertheless, many

graduates leave university with few or no employability attributes, leading to global

industry concerns about finding suitable job applicants (Finch et al., 2013; Hays, 2016;

Prikshat et al., 2016), as well as growing apprehensions about resulting economic

deficits (OECD, 2011).

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 37 No. 2, 2018

pp. 167-181

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-01-2017-0008

Received 16 January 2017

Revised 8 May 2017

Accepted 20 October 2017

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

167

Project

#NuKapav