Innovative CIAG materials developed in collaboration with a private sector partner and TVET providers

Tool focus

The tools demonstrate how TVET and WBL can be enhanced through private sector partnerships and the utilisation of technology

Target group

TVET agencies and Government officials looking to establish innovate CIAG interventions, private sector stakeholders looking to partner with the TVET sector in introducing technological solutions and approaches.

The Programme: Skills for Prosperity

The UK Government – via The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) the  Skills for Prosperity²  (S4P) programme funds projects in nine countries (Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa and the Philippines) to increase capacity for inclusive economic growth through more productive and equitable skills sectors improving skills, employment opportunities and the earning potential of beneficiaries. In line with local needs and national priorities, the programme seeks to improve the affordability, quality, relevance and equity of Higher Education and TVET in the nine countries. A short video presentation of the S4P programme is available here Skills for Prosperity in two minutes - YouTube
Skills for Prosperity Kenya (S4P Kenya) is a two-and-a-half-year S4P programme, with a focus on marginalised youth, persons with disabilities and women and girls, being delivered through a consortium led by the English charity Leonard Cheshire.

S4P Kenya is piloting an employability initiative based on a blended approach to impactful Careers Advice, Information, and Guidance (CIAG), that combines online modules and face to face careers advice delivered at selected TVET and specialist providers. To deliver this initiative, S4P-Kenya is collaborating with a private sector partner, Accenture, the Government of Kenya (GoK) and public sector TVET providers.

S4P Kenya has facilitated the introduction on a suite of innovative CAIG materials, delivered through a pilot programme delivered to 240 beneficiaries, aged 21 to 22, including a minimum of 50% of people with disabilities and an estimated 50/50 gender balance. The beneficiaries are final year TVET students, progressing into the employment market from February 2022.  The pilot has been developed to address barriers to the transition to employment identified during the S4P-Kenya baseline study of Kenya’s education and labour market, including:

• A lack of relevant employability skills, which is a significant barrier to youth employment. For example, the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) noted that at least 70% of entry-level recruits required a refresher course to deliver in their new jobs (2019)³
• The value of online delivery, especially delivering training in the context of COVID-19, in increasing access to education and skills training, including for low-income youth, women and persons with disabilities.
• The need to upskill learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and challenge misconceptions about people with disabilities and what they can bring to the labour market.

The S4P-Kenya has further extended its online delivery in partnership with the Open University, UK. The following case study shows feedback from a female participant in the S4P Kenya programme, by presenting the story of a lecturer who has taken part in online capacity development training, as part of the S4P Kenya programme.

Other case studies can be found, that include a short biography of the participants, their self-reported scores for different digital skills (before and after the training), and a quotation from participants that reflects on the impact of training, and considers future plans to implement what they have learned.

The tool: Careers Advice, Information, and Guidance (CAIG)

S4P- Kenya has been delivering a pilot through selected online courses from Accenture’s Learning Exchange portal (LX) provided in partnership with identified TVET and specialist providers’ careers services. The delivery of this pilot is aligned with the SP4 Kenya’s approach to inclusive and accessible online training:

Source:    Three steps to inclusive and accessible online training. Three steps to inclusive and accessible online training | by Fereshte Goshtasbpour | Skills for Prosperity | Medium

Accenture’s LX has hundreds of self-paced online learning modules that support learners in gaining the skills they require to transition to employment and/or advance their careers. This includes modules in areas such as; English and a second language, digital literacy, career planning and job search strategies, and financial literacy. This allows them to be used to enhance standard TVET programmes through the addition of supplementary CAIG, promoting learner employability.

This model, utilises technology, to complement technical input in promoting learners’ successful transition to employment. The pilot has also been designed in partnership with the Ministry of Education State Department of Technical Vocational Education and Training (MoE). The course will be delivered by selected TVET colleges, through Accenture LX courses, chosen for their relevance to the Kenyan labour market, including modules focusing on career planning and job search.

The piloted CAIG modules were delivered as part of selected technical courses, delivered by participating, TVET colleges being mapped to industry demanded skills in key sectors identified for national economic development (building and construction, agriculture/agro-processing, marine, and hospitality and tourism). The use of flexible online learning materials to complement technical courses allows for the development of bespoke employability training for learners that reflects their specific needs and gaps.

The pilot is also providing capacity building support for the participating TVET and specialist providers through additional IT and coaching resources for their careers centres. The MoE has played a strategic role in validating the preselected courses and identifying public TVET and specialist providers for the pilot. The MoE is also supporting the pilot’s wider impact through its dissemination on national government platforms and by capturing key learnings from the pilot to be shared to the wider sector.

The intervention can be described as being based on four key intervention areas:

• Use of technology and public-private partnerships to support the introduction of innovative careers advice, information, and guidance.
• Mapping and contextualisation of online modules to identified skills needs in key sectors
• Technical assistance and capacity building to enhance TVET colleges’ human and teaching resources
• Partnership with ministry to embed the programme in mainstream TVET sector priorities

The long-term aspiration is to significantly scale the pilot model to improve the employment outcomes of hundreds of thousands of young people, particularly young people with disabilities. Harnessing LX resources through S4P Kenya, in collaboration with relevant national stakeholders, will allow the programme to achieve significant national reach.

• The pilot has been designed to reflect national and local labour market conditions. Global materials are revised to meet the needs of national skills needs and gaps. This will allow local TVET providers to access international standard materials and contextualise them to meet local needs.
• The intervention focuses on how materials and resources can be adapted to meet SEND learners and could provide some valuable insights to promote access and inclusion objectives
• The utilisation of the MoE in selecting relevant LX courses for Kenya’s priority sectors will ensure that the CAIG and skills being developed through the programme are aligned with national skills demands.
• MoE oversight and ownership will also facilitate the dissemination of the programme and the embedding of lessons learnt to Kenya’s wider TVET sector
• The opportunity to select online modules that reflect learners’ needs will maximise positive employment outcomes and allow for a focus on access and inclusion by developing individual learning programmes
• The development of a collaborative approach that utilises a collaborative approach between a private company, TVET providers and Ministry is a valuable example of how public-private partnerships can result in impactful skills outcomes
• Associated capacity building of TVET staff and resources will support the sustainable impact of the intervention and ensue that innovative interventions are being appropriately introduced into mainstream sectors.
• The use of contextualised online resources will allow a wider group of learners, including those with mobility issues, to access quality CIAG that supplements their technical training.
• The use of TVET colleges careers centres will ensure that online modules are being embedded in wider college programmes, and allows learners to access IT hardware
• The programme provides an international partner that can support national training models
• The linking of the pilot to wider programme interventions, including approaches developed through its partnership with the Open University, will ensure a joined up approach.

• It will take careful planning to ensure that online modules are being integrated into TVET programmes, and further WBL learning, and are not being delivered as additional ‘bolt on’ modules
• There are inherent challenges with online delivery, which are part resolved through the TVET centre resourcing included in the project, but resource inequalities could still mean that some learners are unable to access digital resources
• The successful delivery of online modules will require extensive instructor and learner development
• The use of global resources will require careful contextualising to meet local needs. This would include ensuring that local employers are included in the initiative, and have the opportunity to supplement online resources