Edward Mburu

Kenya has started implementing the adoption of  Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) through enactment TVET Act 2013. The enabling state  corporations have been established. Despite remarkable economic growth rates and industrial development in Kenya during the last decade un- and underemployment have persisted. Labour absorption does not seem to match the rate of growth of the labor force in East Africa yet large number of job vacancies for professional service providers to meet large number of customers requirements exist and remain unfilled. This is a clearly due to mismatch between the TVET graduates competencies supply and customers demanded requirements, resulting to the great challenges in Youth  un- and underemployment in most African countries.  . Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Kenya has been subjected to a paradigm shift from offering conventional knowledge based training  to  Competency Based Training (CBT) Once TVET institutions take up their role to train demand driven programs based on CBT , unemployment for TVET graduates will be a thing of the past. The paper demystifies CBT system and provides practical procedure in generating occupational standards that are key to ensuring the production of ready for World of Work graduates. CBT program prepares graduates for the field of work through existing course programs and developing of new innovative curriculums with appropriate technology courses e.g. Fabrication of Biogas Systems, Solar heating systems, Programming, design and production of automated systems. Graduates acquire competencies required both for employment and self employment.