Institutional Capacity for nearshoring, dual training and graduate employment in the Bajío

Regional economic restructuring propelled by nearshoring dynamics has placed unprecedented demands on local institutional capacity to deliver highly skilled, industry-ready technical talent. In Mexico, the adaptation of dual vocational education and training models represents a cornerstone strategy to bridge the historic divide between educational supply and industrial labor demand. Dual apprenticeships merge school-based instruction with workplace immersion, fostering specialized competencies that theoretically facilitate smoother pathways from education to formal labor markets [1]. However, regional variations in institutional readiness, enterprise ownership, and local economic structures significantly mediate the overall effectiveness of these programs across manufacturing corridors [6].

Within the Bajío region, where industrial expansion is tightly linked to automotive, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing value chains, the institutional capacity of vocational systems faces distinct structural frictions. While global literature highlights the causal advantages of dual tracks in accelerating initial employment and earnings [5], the translation of foreign vocational paradigms requires substantial local actor ownership and institutional coordination [6], [8]. Existing evidence suggests that structural limitations in training duration, gaps in labor market responsiveness, and fragmented stakeholder alignment can dampen graduate readiness and restrict formal social security access [1], [2]. Furthermore, persistent sectoral and gender disparities challenge the equitable distribution of nearshoring-driven economic gains [1].

This dissertation investigates the structural nexus connecting institutional capacity, dual vocational training mechanisms, and graduate employment outcomes in the Bajío. Grounded in a systematic comparative evaluation of institutional arrangements, policy frameworks, and empirical labor market trajectories, this study interrogates how local governance structures shape the effectiveness of dual apprenticeships in response to nearshoring relocation [1], [4]. The investigation contributes to regional economic development and vocational education literature by uncovering the institutional conditions necessary to convert industrial foreign direct investment into robust, high-quality graduate employment pathways [5], [6].