Effectiveness of youth polytechnics in training the youth for employment in Machakos District, Kenya
Date
2014Author
Yungungu, Alice
Maleche, Matthew K
Ndurumo, Michael M
Ogolla, Bernard
Language
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Youth Polytechnics play an important role in training school leavers who do not proceed with
higher education. They are trained in relevant skills for either salary or self-employment. This
study was set out to investigate the effectiveness of selected Youth Polytechnics in Machakos
District in training the youth for employment. The study examined curriculum relevance and
its implementation in the Youth Polytechnics to meet the needs of the trainees, the
competence of the instructors, adequacy of teaching and learning resources and the methods
used to evaluate the Youth Polytechnics’ training programme. The study adopted survey
research design. Questionnaires were administered to the trainees and instructors while
interview schedules were administered to the managers and the employers. Observation
checklist and document analysis were also used. The study adopted Kirk Patrick’s four levels
evaluation model (1994). Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as
frequencies and percentages with the help of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS) program. The study showed that Youth Polytechnics’ curriculum was irrelevant to the
needs of the trainees in the labour market. Some needs of the trainees like the teaching of
information and communication technology and entrepreneurial skills were not addressed.
Additionally, teaching and learning resources in Youth Polytechnics were inadequate. The
study concluded that to a great extent, Youth Polytechnics were not effective in training the
youth for employment. The curriculum should therefore be reviewed occasionally to keep
their current and future graduates as well as instructors abreast with technological changes in
the whole Technical and Vocational Education and Training sub-sector to avoid obsoleteness.
Finally, the study recommended that there was need for increased funding towards vocational
education and training which should be directed towards research and development as well as
acquisition of appropriate teaching and learning resources for effective training.