Kenyan-German TVET Initiative

Project description

Title: Kenyan-German TVET Initiative
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Kenya
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Education
Overall term: 2019 bis 2020

Context

As the strongest economic nation in East Africa, Kenya has seen significant economic progress since the turn of the century. Despite economic success, Kenya is characterised by high youth unemployment (26 per cent) as well as a shortage of skilled workers. The Kenyan-German TVET Initiative (KGTI) was launched in early 2017 as part of the new priority sector entitled Sustainable Economic Development – Promotion of Youth Employment and TVET. The key aim of this initiative is promoting the establishment of centres of excellence for cooperative technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Particular emphasis is placed on increasing private companies’ involvement to ensure that the supported training measures are geared to the requirements of the labour market. A total of 15 companies have signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to sponsor centres of excellence. Cooperation between these companies and the centres of excellence is intended to strengthen the selected occupational fields and implement cooperative training on a pilot basis. The companies conduct training for trainers and are involved in developing curricula. They also offer traineeships and provide expertise. 

The project has already participated in carrying out a planning workshop in cooperation with three centres of excellence, the private sector and the Ministry of Education, and has developed a plan for its own mainstreaming.

Objective

Young people in Kenya increasingly complete technical and vocational education and training that is relevant to the labour market. The country’s skills shortage is thus counteracted to a greater extent.

Approach

The project promotes private sector actors in cooperative TVET and training institutions (setting up of centres of excellence) and is strengthening the range of cooperative TVET on offer through TVET reforms. The close involvement of the private sector – including training for trainers and the development of standards and curricula – and the practical training element are new in the Kenyan TVET system. This ensures that TVET is geared more towards the labour market and enhances the employability of Kenya’s young people.