Employment Outcomes Following Industrial Attachment in Kenya (#2047)

Authors

Biewenga, Allison

Deboer, Jennifer

Claussen, Stephanie

Davis, Kirsten

Owuor Gicharu, David

Jeptoo Kerebey, Gladys

Abstract

Unemployment is a major concern for the youth of Kenya. One important part of the solution to this issue is the implementation of technical education programs such as the one in place at Tumaini Innovation Center in Eldoret, Kenya. These programs provide the skills necessary for students[NB1] to enter the workforce (Ohagwu et al., 2022) and give students relevant experience through industrial attachment programs[sc2] in which students are paired with employers and work prior to receiving their certification. However, technical education programs throughout the world can run into several challenges [DA3] such as a mismatch between student skills and market demands (Sang et al., 2012), placing attachment students in industries that do not match their training (Abdullahi & Othman, 2022), and a lack of modern equipment (Muchira et al., 2022). Building on these previous findings, our study explored why students graduating from Tumaini Innovation Center have faced low employment rates even after completing an industrial attachment.[DA4] Using a mixed-methods approach, our study found that the students at Tumaini face some, but not all, of these challenges. [NB5] Students and alumni reported that their skills are useful in their jobs and attachments. All the students are placed in attachments that match their skillset, and students mostly reported that the equipment used in their attachments is comparable to the equipment used at Tumaini. Despite these positives, students still experience low employment rates after completing their attachments. Given that the goal of attending a technical school such as Tumaini is to better employment prospects, it is important to figure out why students end up unemployed after graduation and the barriers to employment. Tumaini serves a unique group of students, so it might be helpful to mention that here. [NB1] This will also help to put some of your later findings in context - when you talk about the discrimination or financial challenges students face. Can you define what these are? [sc2] Are these challenges specific to the Kenyan context or is this from broader literature? [DA3] I recommend having a version of the purpose statement here in the introduction so that the reader understands where the paper is going - feel free to edit if this isn't quite accurate. [DA4] You give examples later in the paper which might contradict this statement - where students feel they need more skills to get jobs after graduation. [NB5] If I misinterpreted this sentence, or the statements later, then you should edit one of them to give the truest representation. I find the best way to do this is to present the evidence for a statement and then also add a sentence so that the reader is aware of the complexity, without thinking that it is contradictory.