Influence of Trainees’ Entry Qualification on Skill Development for Kenya’s Realization of Her Devevelopment Agenda

The purpose of the study was to examine how entry qualifications of trainees at Technical Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) institutions impact on skill development for Kenya’s development agenda. The study was a qualitative case study of three cohorts (2016, 2017 and 2018) being the groups that had done national examinations set by Kenya National Examinational Council (KNEC) at the time the study was carried out. Data was gathered using questionnaires and document analysis. Data analysis involved verification of the entry requirements for one to be enrolled in a given course vis-a-vi the policy governing admissions, actual enrolments in the courses offered and trainees’ performances at the Kenya National Examinational Council examination. The study established that there was strong correlation of 0.798** in a 2 tailed test between trainees’ initial qualifications and academic achievement, a measure of skill formation. However initial entry qualification of trainees was generally low with over 60 percent of the trainees having scored grade D+ and below in their pre-entry examination leading to poor academic achievement, a state that was more pronounced in Science oriented courses. It was further established that the main cause of low achievement of the trainees in the science oriented courses investigated were that the trainees had registered for the courses based on the minimum grade requirement but had poor grades in Science subjects. These findings indicated that Kenya was unlikely to achieve a manpower development needs if this trend continues. As such the study recommends for the need to revise minimum requirements in the cluster subjects to be considered for admission to various courses. The institutes should provide proper career guidance for prospective trainees to help them make informed choices regarding courses to be pursued not only on the basis of their interests but also on their academic abilities as demonstrated in their entry examination performances.