Supporting Innovation in the Technical and Vocational Education Sector: Towards Productivity and Competitiveness

This project aims to better equip Kenyan youth for the world of work by fostering innovations and designing relevant and effective technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programs. It supports the implementation of the Government of Kenya’s Big Four agenda, which involves an increased focus on expanding sectors that have the potential to employ TVET graduates (such as manufacturing, affordable housing, food security, and health) and benefit from applied research at TVET institutions. It will provide opportunities for students and TVET institutions to showcase their innovations and support scaling up in partnership with the private sector and local governments.

The project entails three pillars: a challenge fund for innovation and applied research hubs, mainstreaming gender in vocational training, and a research fund to support action research that is problem-based and has links to local community development. The project is expected to increase employability, productivity, competitiveness, efficiency and income of male and female graduates of the TVET skills development system and enhance the participation of the private sector. The project will be implemented by Colleges and Institutes Canada in partnership with two local institutions, Linking Industry with Academia and the Rift Valley Technical Training Institute.