Technical and vocational colleges offer best pathway to employability

One thing Kenya’s economy always serves in plenty is deception. From the hawker who screams endlessly on the streets ‘mia-mia-soo’ which strangely means Sh300 to the butcher in your local market whose kienyeji chicken has nothing improved in them as claimed: the schemes are in plenty.

A major one, however, is the illusion that advanced education increases one’s employability. It is a strategy that is likely to backfire, as a report by the State’s think tank, Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (Kippra) shows.

Yet, this is not only in Kenya, a lower-middle-income economy. It is the case even in advanced economies, as the Kenya Economic Report 2025 by Kippra shows.

The report documents that in low and lower-middle-income countries, young people (15 to 29 years) with advanced education are more likely to be unemployed compared to their peers with only basic education.

The report, whose analysis stems from different statistics from Kenyan and global agencies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), shows that the unemployment rate of youth with advanced degrees in low-income countries is 21.0 per cent compared to 5.8 per cent for those with basic education.

“This indicates that productive structural transformation in low-income countries has not been achieved, and low-income countries rely on low productivity sectors such as subsistence agriculture and informal services that require low skill levels,” the report shows.

But what broadens this challenge is the level of development in economies like Kenya, which the report shows is not advanced enough to provide individuals with higher education the kind of jobs they are suited for.

For this reason, the employability of a graduate from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Kenya is still lower when compared to other advanced economies, notwithstanding the advantage they have over higher education holders.

For example, in Malaysia, Kippra shows the employability rate of TVET graduates has increased from 65.5 per cent in 2010 to 87.6 per cent in 2020, outperforming non-TVET graduates.

In Germany, the employment rate of TVET graduates reached 90 per cent in 2019, well above the European Union (EU) average of 81 per cent.

In France, the employment rate of TVET graduates of 70.2 per cent is higher than that of graduates from general education by 3.6 percentage points.

“In Kenya, only 12.5 per cent of TVET diploma graduates were unemployed, against the 93.75 per cent of unemployed non-TVET diploma graduates,” the report says.

One thing that limits Kenya’s employability of TVET graduates, which also affects the quality of jobs they get, when compared to other economies, is the curriculum. The report states that employability of TVET graduates notwithstanding, skill sets from TVET are in short supply yet highly demanded in the African labour market.

“This has been attributed to the poor quality of training and an oversupply of non-Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates in a market where the demand for STEM specialisation is high,” the report says.

It adds that educational systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) face significant challenges in aligning curricula and pedagogical approaches with the evolving demands of the labour market.

Further, a substantial gap, it says, also exists in teacher training and resources, which constrains their ability to deliver effective education.

“Many teachers lack adequate training in modern pedagogical methods, particularly those that emphasise learner-centred approaches essential for developing 21st century skills,” the report says.

“In low-income countries, teachers receive only six to nine months of preservice training compared to the three to four years typical in high-income economies.”

The report documents how the country’s preference for TVET graduates is slowly re-shaping career paths. Enrolment in TVET institutions has been growing in recent years, which has also seen the number of institutions increase from 2,140 in 2019 to 2,577 in 2023. Total enrolment in TVET institutions also increased from 430,598 trainees in 2019 to 642,726 in 2023.

The report states that in the five years from 2019 to 2023, while university enrolments have shown growth rates, apart from 2022, the enrolment for TVET has consistently demonstrated higher growth rates. “For instance, from 2022 to 2023, TVET enrolments surged by approximately 43.9 per cent, outpacing the university sector’s growth of 13.2 per cent during the same period,” the report says.

“Moreover, a significant factor contributing to the rise in TVET enrolment is the changing perception of vocational training. As students recognise the value of practical skills in today’s job market, there has been a marked increase in those opting for TVET.”

One outright advantage of advanced education is the perceived job security, pay and working conditions that are synonymous with degree holders.

While the Kippra report shows TVET graduates are able to secure decent jobs, especially in government institutions, a majority of them still face employers who flout labour laws.

“A large proportion (48.9 per cent) of TVET graduates are in a sector where minimum wage laws are not fully enforced,” the report says.

“This is prevalent in developing countries where informal labour constitutes a significant portion of the workforce.”