After hue and cry from employers over half-baked graduates, the government is keen to better prepare students for the job market.
This, Education CS Julius Ogamba said, will be starting as early as Grade 1 to Grade 12.
Ogamba said at the Technical, Vocational Education and Training level is where learners will be fully prepared for the market using the Competency-Based Education and Training.
With the first cohort of CBC transitioning to mainstream tertiary institutions in 2029, Tvets are being prepared to receive them.
“The preparedness begins now with the modularisation of CBET to create flexible, progressive and responsive skills development pathways,” Ogamba said.
He spoke on Wednesday at the Kenya Coast National Polytechnic during a sensitisation forum on the modularised CBET curriculum.
The CS said in line with the CBC structure, secondary schools are already been positioned to provide pre-vocational courses and early exposure to top Tvet programmes.
The courses, he said, must be meaningfully aligned to modular Tvet pathways to ensure learners transition seamlessly from classroom to career and from aptitude to enterprise.
The CBET modular curriculum is now fully rolled out in all public Tvet institutions from May 2025.
A total of 194 modularised programmes have been approved by the Tvet Authority and CDACC (Curriculum Development, Assessment and Certification Council).
More than 70,000 trainees have already been enrolled under the modular system.
“This reform is about preparing our young people for the future, and we want to offer flexible, practical and inclusive education that responds to today’s economic needs,” Ogamba said.
“This reform is already shaping a new cohort of graduates that is agile, skilled and globally competitive.”
Each programme has been restructured into independent, assessable, market-driven modules, allowing trainees to progressively attain micro, part and full qualifications at their own pace.
Under the new curriculum, learners can earn qualifications in stages, allowing them to enter or rejoin the job market as they progress.
The CS said the CBET curriculum supports Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), industry-based training and practical assessments, all designed to make training more accessible and relevant.
The modules are aligned with national occupational standards and international benchmarks to ensure local relevance and global competitiveness, with a strong emphasis on industry-based training.
The government targets to enroll at least two million youth into Tvet by December.
However, he said this must be done practically to be successful, arguing that curriculum without execution is mere paperwork.
Ogamba urged institutional leaders to be more hands-on and practical.
Tvet PS Esther Thaara said Kenya has beautiful policies, but implementation has been the major issue.
“With the current government now, we are talking about implementing policy. We are talking about the doing things because this country must go to another level of development,” she said.
Thaara said time has come to throw out theories and work on practicals.
As an example, she said former Safaricom chairperson Michael Joseph never read a management book but still steered the telco into great heights by getting things done literally.
“And this is where, ladies and gentlemen, we must be. If we are taking this country anywhere, we are going to ensure these young people are entrusted to be doers,” she said.
Thaara urged Tvet leaders to ensure their institutions are among the top nationally by churning out market ready graduates.
“The country should be talking about Kenya Coast National Polytechnic, Kaloleni TVC, Mtongwe TVC and many more,” she said.
If not well managed, some of the Tvets will die natural deaths, the PS warned.
Tvet is a priority under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda of the Kenya Kwanza regime.
“It is not an alternative, but a direct route to employment, innovation and entrepreneurship,” Ogamba said.
In April 2025, the Cabinet approved the Dual Training Policy, which requires all Tvet institutions to partner with industries.
Ogamba also encouraged institutions to create income-generating projects in collaboration with industry players, which can also serve as hands-on training centres.
The Ministry of Education is reviewing the funding model to match the flexible nature of modular training and ensure institutions are supported based on performance and outcomes.
Ogamba urged education partners, including county governments and development partners, to support the successful implementation of the CBET curriculum.
“This is a national movement. We must all act with purpose, urgency and excellence,” he said.
