| dc.description.abstract | Vision 2030 singles out education and training as the vehicle that will drive Kenya into
becoming a middle-income economy. The enrollment of technical and vocational training
institutions has gone up in the recent past. This has led to the government expanding the
institutions in terms of manpower and infrastructure. In 2010-2011 budget, the Kenya
government allocated sh. 560millions to institutes of Science and Technology to upgrade
their facilities. The high demand has also led some institutions to increase their minimum
requirements for some courses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors
that influence the demand for Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Nyeri
County. The study sought to achieve this by investigating the influence of growth in
technology, rural electrification, subsidized secondary school education as well as
introduction of new TVET courses on the demand for Technical and Vocational
Education and Training. The study adopted a descriptive study design. The study targeted
all principals, heads of departments, teachers and graduating students of technical
training institutions in Nyeri County. Using stratified random sampling, the researcher
identified a total of 67 respondents comprising 53 students, 2 principals and 12 heads of
departments to participate in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires and
interview schedule. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed in data
analysis. The study found that growth in technology, rural electrification, subsidized
secondary school education as well as introduction of new TVET courses increased the
demand for Technical and Vocational Education and Training. The study concluded that
growth in technology influences demand for TVET in that technology and especially
information technology has opened up new markets and opportunities which require
skills which can be got from courses offered in TVETs. The study concluded that rural
electrification empowers people residing in rural areas to startup business; those
businesses that require skills such as welding and construction force such people to
pursue courses in the respective courses. These courses are available in TVETs. The
study concluded that subsidized secondary enables more parents to pay and clear their
children’s fees to enable them graduate from high school. The study concluded that
introduction of new courses means that students can chose courses that are within their
interests. This attracts more students to pursue such courses increasing the enrollment in
TVETs. The study recommended that the government should provide impetus to the
citizenry to promote growth in technology in other areas apart from ICT such as farming
and alternative energy. | en |
