Building Connections in Vocational Education and Training: Enacting a Humanising Pedagogy of VET

The underlying philosophy of Vocational Education and Training (VET) asserts that learning should be directed towards developing skills for employment. In many ways this fails to engage learners in developing diverse capabilities that could be more meaningful and valuable to them. My thesis argues instead for a humanising pedagogy of VET that understands Learning as a transformative journey, Education as spaces of human flourishing, and Teaching as an act of love. By cultivating connections in these spaces through shared storytelling and embracing authentic participation, ‘care, love, trust and commitment’ emerge as central, motivating drivers towards individual and collective empowerment.