The author has mentioned in the first blog post that the more access to and the higher quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the more the rate of youth unemployment in Kenya can be controlled and reduced; and that as a result, Kenyan government has paid great attention to provide more opportunities for the students to get access to TVET courses of high quality. In this blog post, the author will go deeper into the use and implementation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as the subsector of  technical and vocational education and training in Kenya.

According to Bingimlas (2009), Information and Communications Technology is defined as groups of technologies providing access to information through telecommunications with a primary focus on communication technologies. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, mobile phones, as well as other communication mediums. As Maina, Kahando, and Maina (2017) point out, ICT is one of the fastest growing economic activities in the world now. Countries that have exploited the potential and the power of ICT have attained significant social and economic development (Nyerere, 2009). To be more specific, Ngure (2013) indicates that ICT can create both the direct jobs of employment in the ICT industries and the indirect ones in the ancillary enterprises enabled by ICT.

Under this trend, Kenya’s ICT industry has also been growing at a promising rate since Kenyan business environment has experienced the positive changes. As a result, the government of Kenya recognizes that ICT plays an important role in its social and economic development. The Kenyan government has encouraged institutions and universities to integrate ICTs in their TVET courses. In addition, the government has proclaimed national ICT policies on the basis of its economic recovery strategy for wealth and employment creation (Maina, Ogalo, and Mwai, 2016).

Ngure (2013) points out that the TVET Authority and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development have committed themselves to promote access to and relevance of ICTs in TVET courses, with the goal of reflecting the needs of industry and the labor market within Kenya’s nationwide socio-economic development plans and policies. To attain this goal, Maina, Ogalo, and Mwai (2016) indicate that work has been done to ensure that the ICT competence-based skills that are necessary and essential in the labor market are offered by technical and vocational education and trainings. The involvement of ICT stakeholders in the development of the training strategies for the TVET of national skills has also been endeavored. Therefore, it can in particular contribute to the better control and reduction of the rate of youth unemployment. The curriculums have become more and more flexible and up-to-date to meet the ICT technological changes and demands in the world of work.

Kenya Science Campus-University of Nairobi

Maina, Kahando, and Maina (2017) gives an example that Chepkoilel University College of Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, integrates ICTs in their TVET programs in School of Education, School of Agriculture, School of Business and Economics, and School of Science, aiming to strengthen students’ skills and employability concerned. What is more, as TVET institutions in Kenya, Michuki and Thika Technical Training Institute in Murang’a and Kiambu County have emphasized the importance of the pedagogical readiness on the effective integration of ICTs.

Maina, Ogalo, and Mwai (2016) suggest that currently the ICT resources are used for developing and improving lecturers’ own knowledge and teaching students about computer and software appliance. To achieve greater positive impacts on controlling and reducing the rate of youth unemployment in Kenya, the use of ICTs in TVET institutions should maintain a balance between research and accessing information and tutoring students in computer literacy and information and communication science. Therefore, the integration of ICTs with TVET can be more effective and of higher quality, which can definitely lead to less inflexible and outdated TVET curriculums; and less mismatch between the skills learned and the skills demanded by industries and the labor market.

TechAtLast.com

Bingimlas (2009) also recommends that Board of Management of TVET institutions in Kenya had better recruit ICT competent teachers with an assessment of the technological proficiency in advance, in order to make sure that teachers are competent to facilitate ICT Integration in TVET. Moreover, teachers should be encouraged to regularly improve their skill-sets to ICT facilities for the sake of integrating the new tools and methodologies in relevant curriculums in an efficient way. Now, more and more TVET institutions and universities have internal ICT training programs, anchored in their ICT strategic plan, for both ICT staff members and students.

 

References

Bingimlas, K. A. (2009). Barriers to the successful integration of ICT in teaching and learning

environments: A review of the literature. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science &

Technology Education, 5(3), 235-245.

Maina, T. M., Kahando, D. M., & Maina, C. M. (2017). Curriculum Content Relevancy in

Integration of ICTs in Kenya TVET Institutions in Readiness to Industry Needs.

International Journal of Secondary Education, 4(6), 58-64.

Maina, T. M., Ogalo, J., & Mwai, N. (2016). The Pedagogical Readiness of Instructors towards

Achieving Integration of ICT’s in TVET Institutions in Kenya. Research in Pedagogy,

6(1), 55-65.

Ngure, S. W. (2013). Stakeholders’ perceptions of technical, vocational education and

training :the case of Kenyan micro and small enterprises in the motor vehicle service and

repair industry. Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/597

Nyerere, J. (2009). Technical, industrial & vocational education and training (TVET) sector

mapping in Kenya [PPT]. Www.slideplayer.com.