Technical Vocational And Education Training (Tvet) And Entrepreneurship Development Among Graduates Of Karen Technical Training Institute For The Deaf - Nairob

Abstract

For centuries, technical skills and entrepreneurship has been widely regarded as a strategy to boost economic development. In recent decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in technical skills and entrepreneurship worldwide. In Sub-Saharan Africa, technical training has received wide recognition and support as a policy response to endemic unemployment. TVET education has therefore been considered key to poverty alleviation among the marginalized groups including PWDs and it is also vital to the realization of Sustainable Development Goals. Although much growth has taken place in TVET training and entrepreneurship promotion, PWDs continue to have lower participation rates in the labour market and difficulty to penetrate high returns entrepreneurial ventures. These have resulted to most PWDs unable to lift themselves out of poverty. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contributions of TVET education to the development of entrepreneurship among deaf TVET graduates of KTTID in Nairobi County. Snow ball sampling technique was used to trace TVET graduates who were deaf, involved in entrepreneurship and had exited KTTID between the years 2010 to 2019. The study employed mixed methods to gather data from KTTID TVET deaf graduates in Nairobi and its surrounds. Survey and case study methods were used to generate quantitative and in-depth qualitative data about the individual cases using questionnaire, interview schedule and observation from the businesses establishments that they run. This study traced and contacted thirty six deaf graduates from KTTID between January and August 2019. The study found that majority of the deaf TVET graduates transited to the business world almost immediately after graduating at a youthful age. Majority of the respondents (56%) believed that TVET training had sufficiently prepared them to become entrepreneurs. The other 44% however claimed that whereas they had acquired useful technical skills the education was insufficient to prepare them to create and run businesses independently. The study found that the TVET graduates with disabilities continued to experience a myriad of challenges that had obstructed competitive growth of their enterprises. In view of these challenges the study therefore recommends regular curriculum and policy reviews to better address the specific needs of TVET GWDs. The study also recommends that commercial banks or other financial institutions consider designating financial products for small entrepreneurs and particularly the PWDs that would be more attractive and affordable.