Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Agricultural Sector

Background Information

Education plays a very important role in the attainment of National Development Goals as well as Global
Sustainable Development Goals. The role of education is even more important when it comes to
promotion of development in developing countries like Kenya where unemployment is currently over
40%.

In the past Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) did not receive adequate attention
from policy-makers as is the case now and hence the ATVET. The education system emphasized on
acquiring knowledge other than skills development in the agricultural sector; this resulted to most
farmers and the stakeholders in agriculture lacking the requisite skills. Current reforms in the education
system aim at addressing this challenge by reforming the curriculum, its delivery and its assessment.
These reforms can only be achieved through Competency Based Education and Training (CBET)
approach. The reforms demands for a competency based curriculum, which is a tool that will aid in the
development of skills, knowledge and attitudes of the farmers. Such training will improve crop and
animal husbandry skills that will in turn contribute to increased productivity and improvement of
agriculture in the country. Ideally, this education and training would not only include farmers, but all
professions involved in agriculture

The Competency Based Curriculum as such presents us with a unique approach to training that will
allow the trainees to gain skills required in their occupation/jobs. It will also allow them to train on their
areas of interest without necessarily undertaking all the modules in the curriculum; this permits flexibility
in training with multiple entry and exits. The Competency Based Curriculum is therefore, going to
revolutionalize the Agriculture sector in Kenya.

However, the implementation of the CBET approach will require trainers to be trained on the new
approach including the development of Occupational Standards, development of the Competency based
curriculum, the delivery methods for the curriculum and the carrying out of the competency-based
assessment.

What is a Competency Based Education and Training (CBET)?

Competency-based learning or competency-based education and training is an approach to teaching and
learning more often used in learning concrete skills, knowledge and attitudes that are specified in order
to define, steer and help to achieve competence standards, mostly within a kind of national qualifications
framework. It differs from other non-related approaches in that the unit of learning is extremely fine
grained. Rather than a course or a module every individual skill/learning outcome, known as a
competency, is one single unit. Learners work on one competency at a time, which is likely a small
component of a larger learning goal. The student is evaluated on the individual competency, and only
once they have mastered it do they move on to others. After that, higher or more complex competencies
are learned to a degree of mastery and isolated from other topics. Another common component of
Competency-based learning is the ability to skip learning modules entirely if the learner can demonstrate
they already have mastery. This can be done through either prior learning assessment or formative
testing.

Why the move to Competency Based Training

The Kenya Government restructured the education sector so that it becomes more beneficial to all people,
and to accelerate the achievement of Vision 2030. We needed to ensure that the school leavers are
equipped with technical and vocational skills. The TVET Act 0f 2013 established three institutions to be
in-charge of the TVET implementation; one of the institutions is TVET CDACC that is in-charge of
Competency Based Curriculum Development, Competency Based Assessment and Competency
Certification. The competency based curriculum necessitates less academic and calls for more practical,
more skills-based and more orientation to a working environment and daily life. We need to ensure that
Kenyan graduates and school leavers qualify to be competitive in the East African region and outside of
the region. We want to ensure that we eliminate any barriers resulting from the old traditional curriculum
that would hinder our graduates from working or furthering their studies in the region and the rest of the
world. We want every Kenyan graduate to have skills, which will ensure their competitiveness in the
regional and global market.

The traditional curriculum includes substantial overage of the core skills, especially literacy and
numeracy, maths, science and English but lacks content relevant to expectations of the labour market.
The emphasis is placed on knowledge acquisition rather than transferable skills, such as problem solving,
critical thinking essential to the appropriate attitude and essential to productive employment. The
Competency Based Curriculum besides addressing the gaps identified in the industry aims at shaping
the attitudes and minds of trainees in a visible way.

Advantages of Competency-Based Training

Benefits to the Country

Ensures that training is cost-effective, goal-oriented and productive
Targets specific training needs
Standardizes performance across organization
Improves quality of products and services

Benefits to Students/Trainees
A competency-based training program focuses on what students/trainees learn and not on the time spent
in the classroom completing credits. In this approach, students work at their own pace to demonstrate
mastery in the competencies necessary for their chosen field of study. There are four main benefits of
Competency Based Training for Students:
Flexible: Competency based programs are very flexible as their structure depends on the
individual learner. There is no rigid schedule in these programs, no set semesters and no classes.
Instead, students guide their learning and control when and where they complete projects and
assessments. The program is also flexible in that it allows students to enter a program at any level
where they are given credit for previous experience.
Self-paced: The focus of CBT is on the outcome and not the journey. This enables students to
control their pacing because they are not confined by any set of learning process. As soon as a
student feels they can prove mastery, they can take an assessment, receive credit and start on the
next material. Moving as slow or fast as they wish, students are able to complete a course when
they are ready. This is a huge benefit for independent and adult learners who may be working
towards a specific course around other schedules.
Engaging: One of the strongest outcomes of competency-based training is increased student
engagement. Students are more engaged in the material because they have ownership over their
learning. They are empowered because they have control over when, where and how they learn.
CBT also promotes individualized learning and accommodates a variety of learning styles,
making it a truly personalized experience. This experience increases engagement because content
is tailored to each student and more relevant.
Skills-based: One of the key benefits of CBT is that learning centers on real-world skills and
competency development. Programs are designed around competencies that are needed for a
particular career ensuring that the material is relevant. The outcome is that students are workplace
ready and have expertise in their chosen fields. For many students, CBT is a direct path to a
successful career.
Benefits to Employers and Employees
In a competency-based training program, both the employer and the employee benefit. Personal
judgment and subjectivity are minimized, creating a more positive work environment and a stronger
relationship between employee and employer. This is a result of establishing transparent workforce
planning, performance standards, performance assessments and succession plans.

Benefits to Employers
Ensures that corporate training and professional development activities are cost-effective, goal-
oriented and productive
Establishes a framework for constructive performance assessments by management at scheduled
intervals
Improves communication between employees and management
Improves quality of products and services
Increases internal employee mobility and cross-training, providing the organization with a
greater ability to scale and flex as needed
Outlines employee development and promotional paths within the organization's succession plan
Records the employees acquisition of the skills, knowledge, safety and other procedures relating
to each task through competency-based interviews
Reduces cost overruns caused by poor performance or miscommunication of job expectations
Standardizes performance across the organization
Targets specific training needs

Benefits to Employees
Enables employees to be more proactive beyond their individual roles by learning additional skills
that are valued by the organization
Ensures that individual professional development and training milestones are recorded and
acknowledged by the organization
Gives employees insight into the overall strategy of their team, department, and organization,
leading to greater engagement and motivation
Increases the potential for job satisfaction
Offers a reference resource for day-to-day job requirements
Provides a mechanism for the recognition of employees abilities
Provides clear direction for learning new job skills
Sets clear expectations for employees, enabling them to make better decisions and work more
effectively

I would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture for having produced the 26 competence based curricula;
this is a lot of work. We thank very the Germany Government through GIZ for assistance offered toward
achieving this important work. The implementation of these curricula will go a long towards the
promotion of agricultural output and hence the contribution towards the achievement of Vision 2030,
which will result in the reduction of poverty in the country.

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