In the past, Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Rwanda has tended to incline towards a supply driven model, with little recognition of the value of linkages with its markets, the demand side. Graduate absorption in the market which is as an important tool of determining the relevance of TVET has remained uncharted waters, while the participation of Industry in TVET has on the whole not been profiled. The conduct of graduate tracer surveys and employer satisfaction surveys is not visibly and systematically practiced. This paper reflects on the first steps taken in the on-going TVET reform in Rwanda spanning 2008-2013, to precisely redress these gaps.
Ecole Technique Officiels (ETOs) and Agroveternaires (EAVs) were surveyed using a complex sampling approach. Well-structured, coded, and graded interview schedules were administered appropriately by well-trained enumerators. Analysis relied upon pertinent descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The markets see value in TVET graduates but are not well prepared to absorb them. On their part, schools see the need for links with industry, but have not gained sufficient access for the crucial training component of Industrial Attachment Practice (IAP). Sensitisation of Industry to open up for this IAP should be carried out vigorously. There is an urgent need for a structured industrial attachment practice framework.
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