The Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutions in Uasin Gishu County have presented the TVET Torch to the county government of Uasin Gishu to mark 100 years of TVET in Kenya as a master key to unlocking employment opportunities through imparting students with key skills that match the industry requirements.
In his speech, as read by Deputy Governor Eng. John Barorot, Uasin Gishu Governor Dr. Jonathan Chelilim said he was grateful to receive and rekindle the TVET flame as Kenya marks the celebration of 100 years of TVET.
Governor Chelilim noted that the torch was a flashback of the journey that TVET has made and a communication strategy to position TVET as the master key to economic growth and sustainable development.
Noting that TVETs existence dates back to pre-colonial times where indigenous communities possessed extensive knowledge and skills such as the construction of houses and agricultural implements, among others, he revealed that the county has 8 TVET institutions and 13 Vocational Training Centres under the department of Education.
“TVET institutions serve as crucibles for skill development. Through specialised training programmes, they continue to equip our youth with the practical expertise and knowledge needed to excel in their chosen fields,” he said.
He affirmed the county administration’s support for TVETs because of the crucial role played by the institutions in providing the hands-on learning experiences crucial for success through enabling students to master a given trade, honing technical abilities, or delving into industry-specific know-how, which are important as they significantly enhance employability.
“In today’s competitive job market, employers increasingly value the tangible skills and industry-specific competencies imparted by TVET institutions. They are key to addressing critical skills gaps within the labour market, and this is in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformational Agenda,” said the governor.
He affirmed his support to collaborate with TVETs and improve on the VTCs in the county as a platform, where our youths can leverage on skills in order to match market demands. By offering tailored programmes such as masonry, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical, our youths are able to meet the needs of industries and employers.
The Deputy Governor, on his part, said they are keen to enhance learning resources by financing retooling and equipping them with relevant state-of-the-art equipment to ensure students acquire relevant skills that meet the requirements of the job industry.
“As you know, sometimes the graduands come out not able to work directly; they need some training. That is why we are saying that we need graduands who will be solving problems in society, so we need to equip the institutions based on the needs that we require now, like getting students with skills to work in EPZ, CAIPs, and others,” noted Eng. Barorot.
“Let us encourage the industry and government to provide attachment as they are being trained in school so that when they come out, they are ready and that what we are putting in these institutions should be relevant to what industry requires,” he added.
TVET North Rift Regional Director Michael Rugut pointed out that the ministry is keen on enhancing access to skills matching the industry requirements by equipping the 230 TVETs across the country with state-of-the-art equipment.
Noting that there are 27 TVET institutions in the North-Rift region across all the 7 counties of Uasin Gishu, Baringo, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia, West Pokot, and Turkana, where Uasin Gishu leads with 8, the regional director noted that TVET was a key driver of industrial development in the country.
“We cannot develop without TVET; it is actually the vehicle which will take us forward, like the example of South Korea, which was developed after embracing it long ago. The ministry is keen on enhancing access to skills that are required by the industry,” noted the director.
“We have 230 TVETs across the country; not only has the number increased, but also the quality of training. The TVETS are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, and at the same time, trainers have increased not only in number but also in quality as we are retooling them from time to time so that they impart to students’s skills that match the industry requirements,” added Rugut.
Rugut revealed that the ministry is currently recruiting 2,000 trainers across the country.
The Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutions (KATTI) Governing Council Deputy Chairperson Charles Koech, who is the principal at the Eldoret national polytechnic, called on the head of TVETs to take responsibility to provide and ensure students acquire skills that are industry based through the current model of Dual Training, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in order to match up job market requirements to enable students leverage on the overseas jobs which are at high demand.
He noted that they are currently working with the Kenya School of TVET (KSTVET) to retool the trainers, preparing them for Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET), adding that they noted there was a gap in the implementation of the CBET that requires them to be retooled.
He commended the government support to the TVET sector through providing additional equipment to the institutions that did not have and putting in place enough resources in terms of budgetary allocation to ensure that all the institutions across the country get the state of art equipment and at the same time supporting them through capacity building to ensure the trainers are able to use the equipment adequately.
In regard to Dual Training, where learners learn 50 per cent of the course work in the classroom and 50 per cent in industries, the Vice Chair indicated that they are already working with a number of industries in the region where they have identified industries that they will work with.
This will enable TVETs, through the Industry Advisory Committees, to get advice on the curriculum that they offer as technical institutions.
Turbo Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Charles Igiha assured of the government’s commitment to provide an enabling environment to ensure smooth learning as he called for the sensitization of more youth and the public who did not make it to college at the grassroots to embrace the initiative and join TVETs in order to acquire the necessary skills to get self-employed.
“We make an appeal to all the candidates who have been doing the exams since 2000 and did not join the tertiary institutions, to make an effort to attend TVETs because that is the way to go.
Last year, we had less than 20 per cent of students who went to university, leaving out the other 80 per cent, where are they supposed to go in order to get livelihood support? They need to extend their future careers through TVETs,” said the DCC.
By Ekuwam Sylvester and Ruth Jepkoech
