Paper short abstract:

The concept of skill ecosystems suggests skill development programs are most effective when the social and institutional environment supports ongoing learning. I show how emotion, power and inequality structure access to skill ecosystems, drawing on a study of agricultural skill development in India

Paper long abstract:

The concept of 'skill ecosystems' - initially developed in the global North - suggests that skill development initiatives are more likely to be effective when the broader social and institutional environment supports ongoing learning and offers opportunities to make meaningful use of skills. In rural contexts in the global South, however, this social and institutional environment is characterised by high levels of informality and inequality, compromising its capacity to facilitate ongoing skill development. In this paper, I argue that emotion, power, and inequality need to be central considerations in understanding how skill ecosystems function in such contexts. I draw on a study of trainees who participated in agricultural training programs in rural north India. Overall, these trainees were more successful in developing and making use of their skills when they were able to connect with a wide variety of other social actors who could facilitate further learning and market integration. These actors included government departments, NGOs, farmer associations, agribusiness firms, and fellow farmers. Yet whether or not trainees were able to connect to these actors in effective ways was highly influenced by the power relations that structure access. Strong emotional responses towards those actors, such as distrust and shame, also inhibited effective connections. I argue that because of their imbrication in systems of inequality and power, skill ecosystems often better facilitate the development and effective deployment of skills amongst those already in possession of social privilege, significantly curtailing their capacity to facilitate progressive social transformation.