Despite its all-rounded significance, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has received less investments and faces layers of challenges in African countries.
With enrollment rates and quality remaining low, TVET’s relevance across most countries also appears insignificant, according to the World Bank report of 2018.
In what could be said a promising move, the report further unveiled that the Sub-Saharan African countries showed substantial growth due to their rapid transformations and foreign investments.
This progress has in turn helped boost the demand for greater technological skills over the last two decade widening the disparity between demand and supply of technical and vocational skills and industries.
Poor coordination and communication among concerned bodies, shortage of training facilities and staff development, poor private sector engagement, and others are said to be the major bottlenecks facing the sector in Ethiopia, said Abera Abate Communication Director of the Federal Technical and Vocational Training Education Agency (FTVET).
Less involvement of private sector is the major challenge. Practically, their participation is very less comparing with the desired level. Accordingly, the FTVET called on the private sector to deepen their toe in the sector to help speed up socioeconomic transformation.
Many countries in this regard have worth sharing experience. China is among those prominent countries with high experience in having quality TVET institutions that constitutes significant share to economic development of the nation.
Owing to this, African countries such as Ethiopia should take lessons from the overall experience of the nation.
Amongst the areas where the country has been vigorously working is linking industries with enterprises. Besides mentoring and hiring vocational students, the enterprises are said to be an active participants through the preparation of TVET curricula.
On the other hand, the country is also notable in working on training programs. The nation has either closed or modified Programs which are less relevant or have lower employment rates. However, in new programs which are believed to be relevant to local industries and have high employment rates, the nation has been striving in developing the programs with the participation of industries, as to same report.
China also sets a good benchmark in integrating theoretical and practical aspects of TVET. Unlike many skills development systems that only emphasize on the “training” part, the Chinese join “education” and “training” together thus promoting both general foundational skills as well as specific technical and vocational education, at secondary and tertiary levels.
The country has set a system of occupational standards, assessment and certification for technical and practical skills. And its training programs as well as curricula are developed based on the occupational standards that consider specific requirements of a labor market need.
Making their experience an exemplary, lesson should be taken in setting a modern TVET that is guided by the government and active participation of the private sector.
In order for TVET to effectively contribute to economic and industrial transformation, countries are recommended to give due emphasis in creating a national TVET enabling environment, including conductive policy framework and quality assurance mechanisms, as to the same report.
With lessons learned from China’s experience, countries and TVET institutions would be able to enrich their strategic plans and create conducive national TVET environment.
Local governments, as per of encouraging companies’ participation on the sector, should provide incentives so that the companies play a role in producing competent and qualified personnel, recommends the report.
At the second international TVET conference held recently, Science and Higher Education Minister, Hirut Woldemariam (PhD) noted that if more focus is given to the sector, TVET can be an engine for the economy.
The Minister stressed that the sector would help the nation in bringing out more skilled and qualified TVET students to industries.
Abera said, “Working on the TVET sector has multifaceted importance. The fact that the sector provides the youth with skills, apart from paving the way for self reliance, gives them the opportunity to take part in production activity and contribute to national development.”
Mentioning that the office is carrying out various activities to curb the challenges of the sector, he said the TVET sector is crucial vehicle for sustainable social development thus it needs multi dimensional cooperation and support of stakeholders (private industries).
The Ethiopian Herald August 14, 2019
BY BETELHEM BEDLU
