Abstract:
Technical education in Kenya is a necessary condition that enables members of society to productively function in
technologically rapidly changing society. Technical training institutions have the responsibility to develop skilled
Artisans, Craftsmen and Technicians for employment in business organizations and industries. The training in
T.T.Is should therefore be market driven. The current study was designed to investigate the perception of
employers towards skill training in T.T.Is to skill needs in industries and business organizations. Descriptive
survey research design was used for the study. Snowball sampling technique was used to identify T.T.I graduates
and their employers were purposively sampled. A sample size of one hundred and sixty eight respondents were
used for the study. The study found out that T.T.Is rarely consults the employers (87.5%) on market skill needs.
Majority of respondents felt that training facilities used by T.T.Is are inferior to facilities used in industries and
business organizations, slightly relevant (39.9%) and obsolete (35.7%). T.T.I graduates were subjected to
training 84.5% before commencing work mainly because T.T.I graduates lacked adequate skills (69.6%).
Majority of respondents indicated that T.T.I graduates posses’ very irrelevant skills (42.3%) in relation to skill
needs in industries and business organizations. This implies that there exists a miss-match between skills training
in T.T.Is and skill needs in industries and business organizations. The training policies need to be urgently
reviewed to ensure that training is market driven and employers are regularly consulted on market skill needs.
The study recommends an urgent overhaul of the training curriculum to enhance adequacy of skill training and
relevance to skill needs in industries and business organizations.
