This article examines how Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers in a South African college conceptualise a humanising pedagogy within Work Integrated Learning (WIL) practices. Against a backdrop of high youth unemployment and persistent skills mismatches, the study considers how WIL might be reframed to support employability while fostering learner agency. Using a qualitative, critical design, five purposively selected lecturers drawn from the college’s five campuses participated in the study. Data were generated through participatory visual methods (collage-making and a modified Mmogo-method®) combined with semi-structured group discussions. Findings reveal that although lecturers seldom used the term ‘humanising pedagogy’, their practices often reflected its principles: learner-centredness, dignity, and responsiveness to students’ lived realities. The visual artefacts and narratives highlighted tacit and affective dimensions of pedagogy that interviews alone might miss. However, humanising practices were constrained by compliance-driven frameworks that emphasised logbooks, placements, and bureaucratic requirements. The study acknowledges that students’ perspectives were mediated through lecturer accounts, suggesting future research should include learner voices and direct observations. Overall, the paper argues that humanising WIL holds transformative potential by nurturing purpose, workplace readiness, and entrepreneurial imagination. It contributes to debates on vocational reform by offering context-responsive guidelines for socially inclusive WIL. © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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