A promising Solution for Spurring TVET Graduate Employment in Kenya

I recently had a conversation with one of the leading plumbing company executive, who revealed interesting insights on the quality of TVET graduates. Much as he seemed to appreciate the high quality of theoretical learning taking place at TVET institutions, he asserted that most graduates are experiencing significant challenges in aligning to changing labour market needs due to lack of exposure on current technologies, industry trends and requisite 21st century social and soft skills.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that the Government and TVET stakeholders have put a lot of effort to change this trajectory, in various ways, these includes; the implementation of the Competency-based Education and Training (CBET) curriculum, increased communication and advocacy on vocational training, and increased attention to Industry and academia linkages. Such legislated and established policies and initiatives are helping to address this and other gaps.

As has been documented elsewhere, Kenya is experiencing a “Youth Bulge” with over 20.1% of its population aged between 15 and 24 years. The same is reported in most sub-Saharan Africa countries with growth averaging at 19.7%, while the rest of the world is at 16.2%. Statistics also indicate that Kenyans between the ages of 15-34 years account for 84% of the unemployed population. Essentially this means, there is a high youth unemployment rate in Kenya which is bound to increase due to the prolonged economic impacts of the Covid- 19 pandemic. Despite these unemployment statistics, young people continue to leave school to join the unemployed cadre even as the potential of selfemployment through TVET is ignored.

Notably, an additional 5 million youth will be entering the labour market by 2025 making the situation dire. As such more effort is needed to improve the quality of learning in the TVETs and to smoothen the transition of graduates from to work as a strategy for increasing youth employment and economic growth.

 Dual Apprentice System The Dual Apprentice System combines apprenticeship and vocational education – where theoretical instruction in school is combined with practical training in the workplace. With defined periods for academic instruction and defined periods for workplace training. Dual apprenticeship is primarily practiced in Europe, where Germany is leading.

 According to Urban Institute, 2021, Germany in the year 2019 had 1.09 million apprentices who were trained in 327 recognized occupations. With the duration of their apprenticeship taking two and three and a half years, depending on one’s profession. For acceptance into an apprenticeship program, a student applies to their desirable employer who screens applicants and selects them. Essentially, the program in Germany begins as a training contract between an employer and an apprentice. It is similar to a work contract and serves as the legal basis for the in-company training in the Dual VET system. One key aspect of this employer apprentice relationship is that it is supported by the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The chambers in this regard provide a training contract that regulates; the duration of the training, stipulates the beginning and end of the training, the probation time, the vacations, the training content, the training salary, and termination. Other countries whose apprenticeship systems have been recognized include Finland and Switzerland.

To put it into context, the Dual Apprentice System simply means employers participating in training programs. There are several models of dual apprentice training that can be considered. There is the Block Training where there is a prescribed period for training followed by industry experience. Sandwich model where you alternate training and practical work experience within structured duration and Blended model where there is no defined time periods between training and apprenticeship. The main focus is to ensure learning and training goes hand in hand with work experience.

It is noteworthy to mention that Kenya has benefited significantly from investments promoting dual apprenticeships type of trainings, through organizations like GIZ, KfW, World Bank Kenya Youth Employment Program and Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project. However, most of these initiatives are still at the pilot stage with incredible results, laying a solid foundational block for national wide scale-up and ownership.

Wherever dual apprenticeship has taken hold it has proven benefits. The ways in which it has been beneficial include; increased employer participation in training sessions; students have been exposed to current trends, technologies and practices in the industry; there is increased exposure of training institutions to modern pedagogies; an increase in transition rates as well as supporting inclusion of youth with various diverse needs.

Adaptation of Dual apprenticeship to the Kenyan context Dual apprenticeship in Kenya is possible, mainly due to the shrinking formal sector and expanding informal sector.

Additionally, the nascent nature of the Kenyan private sector ecosystem particularly the SME base is a large incentive in itself due to the opportunities that may accrue from adopting dual apprenticeship.

Moreover, the government has made significant investments to facilitate the adoption of dual apprenticeships by providing; public work programs, TVET infrastructure development, reforms in education and training ecosystem, increased investment in large public works and infrastructure projects, increased enrollments to the TVET institutions, and increased adoption of technology especially with the emergence of the 4th industrial digital revolution.

Consequently, Kenya has the potential to leverage on dual apprenticeship to enhance TVET training and employment outcomes. This will require rethinking our approach to training, engagement of industry as well as TVET policy
and regulatory reforms. The Re-Imagined Dual Apprenticeship System – A Fit for Purpose Model for Kenya Re-imagined industry-academia linkage framework  The government of Kenya has put great effort to establish this linkage by adopting the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) at basic level, the Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) at the TVET level and industry-aligned training at the university level.

Nonetheless, there is a need to re-imagine an approach that would show how the industry and academia can enhance education and youth employment outcomes. The industry-academia linkage framework needs to be re-imagined through context-specific interventions, with data-driven decisions, that will leverage on - digital technologies, appropriate national, sectoral and industryspecific policies, and putting youth voices at the center stage.

Re-imagined mindset – Trainers, trainee, industry and society
The Dual Apprenticeship System can be quickly adopted in Kenya when a whole society shared-purpose mindset is created and defined targeting trainers, trainees, industry, and society. They have to recognize the need for dual apprenticeship to promote the public good and attract public support and allocate public resources. All primary actors should be involved in revealing any gaps that can be addressed through dual apprenticeship. Benefits of a functional TVET systems permeates in every aspect and part of the society and economy.

Re-imagined role of MSMEs and SMEs
MSMEs and SMEs usually assume that only large corporations and government institutions can participate in a dual apprenticeship. Yet, MSMEs and SMEs typically find it harder than large employers to acquire the skills they need, either because they cannot attract talent from external labour markets, or because they do not have the resources to develop these skills internally through training.

SMEs constitute 98 percent of all business in Kenya, create 30 percent of the jobs annually as well as contribute 3 percent of the GDP.MSMEs contribute 40% of GDP and highest number of jobs. This points to the phenomenal potential these businesses can contribute to dual apprenticeship training system. There is a need for a framework to appreciate their role and contribution in promoting dual apprenticeship.

Re-imagined training delivery approach
A re-imagined training delivery approach is necessary for an impactful apprenticeship. A more personalized approach is essential to ensure each apprentice is well attended to, depending on their unique training needs. Due to the diverse training needs of individuals, a single standardized training method may not guarantee the success of apprenticeship programs. The staff in the training institutions and apprentices’ mentors should be trained on various training and teaching methods to allow them to adapt to the apprentice’s individual needs. Amplified role of private sector in training and quality assurance is also essential.

Re-imagined governance, collaboration and coordination of TVET programs Several stakeholder groups have a legitimate interest in the quality of TVET programs. The greatest challenge has been in the coordination and accountability of such systems. Accordingly, there needs to re-imagine how such system will be governed and coordinated in an inclusive manner.  Multi-stakeholder partnerships will allow the skill systems to be defined by the trainers, government, professional associations and by employers in collaboration with the labour market actors. This will then be implemented by TVET education and training institutions.

Re-imagined role of digital adoption in TVET interventions Several technologies are driving digital innovation through; collaboration on digital technologies, extended reality, ubiquitous computing, artificial intelligence and block chain are major ones. These technologies are enabling new modes of teaching and learning to take place both in and out of the classroom or training centers where content is delivered asynchronously and interactively.

Technology is well suited for the TVET transformational agenda. Notably, these digital technologies need to be deployed in ways that would stimulate young people’s interest in joining technical and technology courses. The idea is to help learners learn collaboratively or individually through a variety of technology enabled methodologies.

Kenya is already ahead of the curve
The uniqueness of Kenya gives it a higher potential of succeeding in dual apprenticeship. Kenya has a thriving private sector and a large base of MSMEs and SMEs. It also making promising reforms in TVET, primarily through CBET, capacity strengthening of trainers and upgrading infrastructure and equipments in TVET institutions. As mentioned earlier, Kenya also has a youth bulge which is considered a “demographic dividend” that can gain heavily
from the system.

With the increased recognition of the importance of TVETs and the shift of Kenya’s economy towards a knowledge and digital based, it is guaranteed that more young people will be willing to join TVET institutions to evade the high
unemployment rates. Yet even for those seeking employment, they will be better positioned to secure employment when they are well trained and better aligned to emerging market needs which is possible through the dual apprenticeship.

Additionally, the adoption of CBET will ensure that the dual system is implemented seamlessly, as such, communication and advocacy for this pairing needs to be articulated more, as this will go a long way to ensure that the country remains ahead of the curve.

Dr. Ehud Gachugu is the
Director Ajira Digital and Youth
Employment Program under
Kenya Private Sector Alliance
(KEPSA)