Capabilities for work and life: Assessing the production of core values and capabilities among youth attending TVET in Kenya

• In Event: Tackling the skills gap: exploring Whole Youth Development as strategic contribution to sustainable youth futures in Kenya

Proposal

Kenya has a long history of technical and vocational training (TVET). In 2017, it was documented that around 275,000 students were enrolled in over 1,500 TVET institutions. The institutions have been blamed for not adequately preparing graduates for the modern labor market. Youth completing training are unable to meet the skill demands, owing to low technical skill accumulation on the one hand, and lack of other non-technical and non-cognitive competences demanded by today’s work and life.

This paper will present results of a study being conducted by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) among youth aged 15-25 years attending Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Kenya. This APHRC study is motivated by the fact that many young persons in Kenya are graduating from TVET institutions with notable skill gaps. Owing to the changes in the work markets, employers now demand not only the technical qualifications, but also core values and soft skills. Thus, the study is examining the extent to which technical, academic, life skills, values and social emotional skills are exhibited by youth in TVET institutions. Specifically, the study aims to determine the extent to which these skills are exhibited by youth going through TVET, and the extent to which the current TVET policies and curricula embody whole youth development (WYD). It is anticipated that this study will generate deep insight on the role of quality training in meeting the development challenges confronting Kenya and countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The study adopts a cross-sectional design, with a sample of 3640 youth aged 15-25 years attending 182 TVET institutions in Kenya. Quantitative survey tools are being used to collect data on the contextual and family background students, their perceptions regarding core values and capabilities, their experience of these skills in their TVET training programs, and their rating and prioritizing of the capabilities mostly demanded by their future careers. A student assessment kit is being used to measure a few targeted skills among the youth. In addition, questionnaires are being used to collect background information of the instructors and institutions. To complement the quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews are being conducted with students, Ministry of Education officials and other key TVET stakeholders.

Data collection commenced in October 2018, with expected completion in early November 2018. Analysis will be conducted in December, and full results are expected by January 2019.

Evidence from the pilot exercise points to a weak exhibition of some soft skills (e.g. assertiveness, negotiation skills and problem-solving skills) among youths graduating from TVET institutions. Evidence also point to weak academic and digital literacy skills as well as poor levels of general knowledge among these students. For instance, about 7% of the students interviewed could not read and understand a small passage (less 200 words) written in simple common words; about one-half (52.7%) could not answer correctly simple mathematics problem; about 43.2% could not download files from the internet; while a whopping 54.1% could not correctly mark a neighboring country on the map.

Authors

• Moses Ngware, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

• Njora Hungi, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

• Nelson Gichuhi Muhia, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)