The last decade has seen a resurgence of
interest in technical vocational education and training (TVET) in the
international policy community. Here in Kenya, the TVET Act of 2013 aims to
strengthen quality and relevance of TVET to respond to the changing needs of
the labor market.
Under the TVET Act, the Technical Vocational
Education and Training Authority (TVETA) was created to deal with
accreditation, registration and licensing of institutions and trainers.
Currently Kenya has 10 national polytechnics. The goal is to establish one
national polytechnic in each of the 47 counties. Furthermore, the government
plans to build 290 technical training institutes (TTIs), one each constituency.
Ministry of Education officials estimate the about 130 TTIs have been built so
far.
Last week I attended the National TVET
conference at KICC in Nairobi. This conference brought together a wide range of
stakeholders, including government, industry, academia, donors, civil society,
youth, students, educators and politicians. Various speakers emphasized the
vital role of technical and vocational training. There was wide consensus among
the participants that TVET was critical to addressing the urgent concerns
around skills and unemployment among youth.
Here is the context in which we must
understand the need for vocational education and training. According to the
2016 Economic Survey, 85 percent of the 841,000 jobs created in 2015 were in
the informal sector. Unemployment among Kenyan youth aged 18-35 is estimated at
about 55 percent. Every year about 800,000 young Kenyans – about 35 percent
graduating from primary school and 75 percent graduating from secondary
education – enter the labor market without any skills or training. Less than 10
percent of youth eligible for vocational education and training are enrolled in
TTIs.
The massive expansion of TTIs is in many
ways justifiable. But here are some questions we should grapple with in order
to get value for our investment. What are the priority training needs for a
market dominated by informal sector? In an economy characterized by a trend of
de-industrialization what is the right balance between technical and other
vocational skills? Is the massive expansion of TTIs merely a holding yard for
youth or a truly viable path to the world of work? To what extent will national
and county labor market needs inform the training programs offered by the 47
national polytechnics and the 290 TTIs?
We must pay attention to inconvenient details
like qualified TVET teachers, equipment and other vital learning resources, and
especially industry partners who will provide internship, service learning and
employment opportunities for TVET graduates.
We have been everything but thoughtful in the
expansion of university education. Expansion of TVET must not be driven by
supply. What we need is a uniquely Kenyan TVET sector. TVET expansion but by
careful assessment and targeted response to economic growth patterns, national
and local development needs, and labor market demands.
And most of all, the TVET curriculum must responsive,
constantly enriched by the changing dynamics of the market place, not by
government bureaucrats sitting in a distant capital.
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