Bridging the Skills Gap: Aligning TVET with Market Needs in Kenya

For a very long time in the history of education in Kenya, institutions of higher learning have churned out many graduates who are not market ready and therefore require subsequent retraining on the job to be able to perform optimally. This was quite often attributed to a glaring mismatch between the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes imparted in learners through the then existing schooling system and the expectations of the job market. This paper explores the discrepancy between TVET training and industry expectation in Kenya. The researcher analyzes literature and consults professional practitioners to understand ways through which skills gaps amongst prospective workers are being bridged so that they shall become indispensable and relevant industry drivers. The paper discusses interventions currently being deployed to align TVET with market needs in a bid to bridge such skills gap in the Kenyan context. These alignments include development and harmonization of Occupational Standards, development and alignment of CBET curricula, flexible learning and training, partnership between TVET and industry, accreditation, funding, trainers’ development and installation of facilities and infrastructure. The modalities deployed in aligning TVET with market needs as described in this paper has been the panacea for major TVET take off in Kenya. The interventions guarantee numerous benefits for everyone - the graduating students find their transition into industry roles smoother; employers hire people who are skilled and job-ready and TVET institutions in Kenya take great pride in seeing their students getting placed with good firms globally.