Technical training a panacea for our economic misery

In the Budget, Sh16 billion was allocated to technical training. That is more than double last year's Sh6 billion, and 2016’s Sh2.5 billion. I applaud this apparent awakening by the government. Technical training is a grossly underrated economic driver, particularly in Africa.  

As children, most of us had innocent dreams of what we wanted to be when we grow up. These were career goals influenced by our personalities, curiosity or by talent and interest. Personally, I wanted to be a policewoman. But our pure childhood aspirations were adjusted by the sober influence of our parents, and by society.

They were re-shaped into more ‘sensible’ professions; medicine, law, architecture, engineering. You know, the reputable fields. Those incapable of meeting the mark fell by the wayside and picked up the vocational ‘dregs’.

The ‘dregs’ here being careers in education, accounting, or worse, the fundi careers –becoming a mechanic, a tailor, a plumber, an electrician, or a carpenter. In short, some of the most important occupations are reserved for those who ‘are not good enough’.

And the remuneration and social capital matches the status. These fields are the least paid, least respected, least appreciated.   

Meanwhile in Germany, one of the most advanced economies, 68 per cent of high school leavers are going for these precise jobs. A German fundi can earn as much as a doctor. In fact, only 18 per cent of high school leavers in Germany end up at the university.

 The rest of the world is reforming as well. China is in the process of converting 80 per centof its universities into technical institutions. Little wonder their economies are thriving - the training given matches the economies’ industrial needs. The opposite is true in Kenya, where gross enrollment ratio into technical institutions after O-levels is in the range of 6 per cent. 

This, in my view, is not essentially a problem of the education system, but of the mind. We need an attitude shift. However, the blame is not ours entirely. This is just but a continuation of a pervasive colonial legacy, which began as a deliberate effort to confine the African to certain professional fields. 

LOGISTICAL REQUIREMENT

Think about it. Britain’s industrial revolution was driven by technical skills and knowledge. This is what enabled the innovation and application of machinery and equipment to produce more, and trade more. The administrative functions in Britain were in fact only a logistical requirement to support the booming industry. But to the colonies, including Kenya, the British encouraged the administrative functions only. The best and the brightest Kenyans were propped up to management roles, with big offices, multiple secretaries and phone lines. These were the ‘emblems’ of professional success.

 They were then left to push paper all day in their neckties. The mechanics behind the technical work happening in tea, coffee factoris and other industries, were only accessible to the ‘wazungus’. 

The ‘dimmer bulbs’ – those Africans who did not do well in their basic education, were left to do the handiwork.

 They would fix things without the training that would give them an entire understanding of the science behind their work. They would have no access to the knowledge that would help them put the whole technical picture together. 

Unfortunately, this lopsided structure has lingered to date. And it is difficult to reverse. No African parent wants their child to become a fundi, no matter how talented they may be.   

Any economy’s education system must be shaped according to its industrial needs. An economy cannot live on ‘prestige’ alone, but by the skills and knowledge that enable the society to produce, create and innovate. Even doctors are to serve the function of keeping the wheels turning; by supporting a healthy workforce. At the very heart of economic growth are the workers and the educators that train those workers. 

 With proper leadership, particularly from the Technical and Vocational Education Training Authority, the increased budgetary allocation will translate into long-term tangible returns for the economy.