Enhancing partnerships for industry-led vocational training and education (e-pivot) in the horticulture value chains of Kenya

Abstract

Horticulture is the fastest growing sub-sector in Kenya. It is expected to contribute the most towards the envisioned poverty reduction, and overall food security. It is generally a labour-intensive industry with high demand of skilled workers, trained supervisor and professional managers. Over six million Kenyans are directly and indirectly employed in horticulture, women constitute 75% of the labour force in the horticulture industry. Some of the limiting factors to the sector are availability of water and climate change. The current ATVETs and associated education institutions have a very general focus and there is lack of specialized workforce in horticulture. Through a consortium of 6 ATVETS and MUST we aimed to close those gaps, strengthening the capacity of the ATVETs through a strong collaboration between the education institutions and the private sector, strengthening linkages among the various actors to enable practical learning and innovation in the horticulture sector. This is being done through integrating the curriculum for horticulture, water and climate to suit the needs of the students and tailoring it to the local context. Each of the participating colleges invested in hands-on training through dedicated agricultural innovation hubs and creating strong links with the local stakeholders. To compliment curricula developed by the Curriculum Development Assessment and Certificate Council (CDACC), training manuals have developed for selected courses. The manual provides a practical way of integrating competence based training principles. In addition, tutors have been trained to enhance their capacity to design, deliver and evaluate competence based education. Problem based learning in the Kenyan context as well as joint learning session between Kenyan and Dutch students are non-traditional pedagogy methodologies being explored. While the project is still ongoing working in a consortium led by MUST is highly beneficial to the colleges and surrounding communities, and the quality of the teaching. There has increased interactions between the ATVET tutors and partners within the partnerships created by the project. Additionally, the ATVETs also created more partnerships relevant to their training and practical work.