State to hire 1,300 instructors to bridge staffing gap in Tvets
A mechanical engineering student operates a lathe machine at Nyeri National Polytechnic in June 2021.
The government is planning to recruit 1,300 instructors to address an acute shortage of staff in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) institutions.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu further announced plans to promote 3,269 trainers who have stagnated in the same job groups for years.
Mr Machogu said the government is keen on expanding the Tvet sub-sector to create employment opportunities for more youth and meet the growing demand for skilled manpower.
In a speech read on his behalf by Tvet Permanent Secretary Esther Mworia in Mombasa during the graduation of 1,811 students at the Kenya National Coast Polytechnic (KCNP), the CS said the state will also fund the construction of new Tvet institutions in the remaining 52 constituencies, to achieve the objective of at least one Tvet institution per constituency.
He said the number of graduands at KCNP has grown from 1,339 last year to 1,811 this year, out of whom 1,033 are female.
Mr Machogu said the establishment of centres of excellence in hospitality and marine transport and port logistics, student exchange and scholarship programmes forged with institutions in Tanzania, China and Canada, have made KCNP attractive for students in the region and globally.
Mr Machogu assured the public that the President is committed to revamping the sub-sector and restoring it to its rightful role.
“Several steps are being taken in this regard. The government is in the process of reinstating the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Curriculum Development, Assessment and Certification Council,” he said.
The council will oversee the design and development of curricula, assessments and certification to ensure efficient and functional linkages between the sub-sector and the market.
