Prioritizing transferrable competences for work and life in Kenya: Results of a multi-stage participatory knowledge process

• In Event: Educating for the 21st century: experiences from the regional education learning initiative in East Africa

Proposal

Kenya has a vibrant schooling system, with nearly 95 percent of eligible children enrolled in primary school, and transitions from primary to secondary now nearing 80 percent. Surveys over the last decade have established quality gaps and sharp inequality in learning outcomes, and decried the emphasis on academic competences over other capabilities that young persons require to navigate work and life. Realizing this, the government of Kenya is in the process of implementing 15 education reforms, targeting inclusion, quality and the equalization of learning opportunity for all children.
One such reform is the curriculum reform in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), seeking to modernize the skills offered to youth to prepare them more for today’s job markets. In this, the government resolved to move to competency-based training curricula, with deliberate inclusion of a range of 21st century skills. To support this process, ZiziAfrique embarked on a rigorous, participatory process of defining the skills most valued by trainers, understanding the capabilities demanded for success in work and life.
First, a survey was conducted in 30 vocational training centres sampled from across the country, looking at the non-technical competences valued by TVET institutions, as well as the methods and measurements used to nurture and assess the capabilities. Using the concepts emerging from this process, the team went on to engage local TVET practitioners to explore and define the transversal competences mostly demanded today, and prioritize these for inclusion in Kenya’s TVET curriculum. Lastly, two meetings were held with global and regional experts to validate the emerging framework of competences. First was a meeting of the Regional Education Learning Initiative (RELI) that was held in Dar es salaam, and a national meeting of the Values and Life Skills Working Group in Kenya’s TVET sector. These meetings involved a cross-section from global institutions involved in the development of soft skills assessments.
Lastly, an assessment tool was developed, targeting the measurement of prioritized values and life skills (including digital literacy, functional literacy and numeracy) among youth aged 15 to 25 years. This tool was integrated in two surveys, one covering youth not in employment, education or training, and the other covering youth in TVET institutions.
The emergent framework proposes that TVET in Kenya should prioritize six transferrable competency areas, and six non-transferrable skill areas. The transferrable competency areas include thinking skills, literacy, emotional intelligence, citizenship, employability skills and values. The non-transferrable skill areas encompass the traditional technical skill areas (including artificial intelligence), occupational safety, financial literacy, human resource skills and entrepreneurship. In total, the framework proposes to the TVET curriculum a total of 38 individual transferrable skills and (in addition to the TVET technical areas) 26 non-transferrable competences.to the TVET curriculum a total of 38 individual transferrable skills and (in addition to the TVET technical areas) 26 non-transferrable competences.
This framework compares favorably with the skills mapped in Uganda and Tanzania, with only slight deviations.

Author

• Lucy Maina, ZiziAfrique Foundation