Kenya’s debut participation at the 47 WorldSkills competition that took place in Lyon France has exposed the wide skills gap between local Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) and the developed world.
None of the competitors won any medal at the event dubbed “The Olympics of Skills”. Coincidentally, the competition came just after the Paris Olympics (though non-academic) where Kenyan athletes had mixed fortunes on the global stage from where they always bring home medals.
The performance at the WorldSkills also presents a vital critique of the country’s education system and transition to Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) that lays emphasis on skills development. Less than 20 percent of Form Four leavers qualify for university admission and the bulk of the students going for Tvet.
The other countries from Africa at the competition were Ethiopia, Morocco, Namibia, Uganda and South Africa, all of which did not win any medal.
The Kenyan delegation comprised a team of seven competitors, eight experts and eight officials where it participated in six skills. The WorldSkills competition is a platform where trainees in the Tvet sector participate to showcase their innovations and compete with others from across the globe.
Kenya competed in six disciplines; mechatronics, mechanical engineering computer aided design (CAD), welding, cooking, restaurant service and water technology.
“Our TVET is still very theoretical and trainers are unable to keep up with the rapid tech evolution in industry. Use of outdated tech in training can be cured through closer collaboration with industry, and having trainers spending time in industry to upskill,” Dr John Mugo, the CEO of Zizi Afrique told Nation .
He observed that most Tvet institutions are “localised” and lack global exposure as well as benchmarking on what works and can be improved. He called for a subjective and transparent method of selection of participants to ensure the best representation in such competitions.
“Limited investment in modern tech-training and preparation has restricted the capacities of trainers and trainees to compete globally,” said Dr Mugo.
Claude Kimiach Chemoiwa and Joe Albert Ngigi competed in mechatronics (a multidisciplinary field that integrates mechanics, electronics and computing. They were ranked 33 out of 35 in with a score of 659 out of a possible 1,000. The gold medal went to Zili Luo and Zhaoyang Pan of China with a score of 746 followed by Sohma Bando and Yuki Kitagawa of Japan (739) and the Korean duo of Junho Shin and Jihan Kim (739).
For the mechanical engineering CAD category, Kenya was represented by Lamex Odanga Agunda who was ranked 29 out of 29 with a score of 646 points. Yusen Huang of China took gold (811) and Jeonghoon Park of Korea bagged the silver (796). The bronze went to Noura Alnaqbi of the United Arab Emirates (781).
Sanghyeok Lee of Korea won the event (736) followed by Zehong Hu of China and Canadian Ben Rainforth (729) was third.
Robert Maina participated in cooking and was ranked 40 out 41 with a score of 630. The gold medal for the best cooking was won by Bangcheng Kang of China who scored 781 points. Korean Jiyu Lee took silver with 762 while the bronze medal went to Chen-Ruei Liu of Chinese Taipei (746).
In restaurant service, Victoria Miriti was ranked 27 (659) out of 33 competitors. The event was won by Denis Merlo of France (756) followed by Nur Selina Binte Sapii of Singapore (749) and Zitong Wang of China (743).
In the last event, Sioyi Michelle Najala was ranked 8 (566) out of 8 competitors in Water Technology. The top three competitors were Yijie Yang of China (756), Jun Yang Jonathan Teo of Singapore (709) and Jeongbo Heo of Korea (705).
“Although none of the countries from Africa made to the medal list, there are benefits associated with taking part in the competition. The competition offered real career experience as students are challenged to achieve a level of practice that is professional, in-demand, and expected, as well as to master communication and teamwork skills.
"This learning-by-doing approach helps contestants make a smooth transition from training to work and fosters the formation of professional identity, independence, and initiative. The WorldSkills methodology supplements the learning process with competition as an integral component. This encourages trainees to realise their potential and study hard.
"Skills competitions therefore become an integral part of the curriculum development, training, assessment and certification as experts integrate International Occupational Standards into the entire process,” said Dr Kipkirui Langat, the leader of the delegation who is also the director-general of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (Tveta).
“The impact of WorldSkills Lyon 2024 extends far beyond the event itself as it spotlighted the crucial role of vocational education in today's world and in shaping our shared future,” he added.
