FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO LACK OF EMPLOYABLE SKILLS AMONG TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION (TVET) GRADUATES IN TANZANIA
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Abstract
Currently, employers in Tanzania are seriously concerned about the lack of employable skills among technical education graduates given that they undergo Competency-Based Education and Training which exposes them to right knowledge, skills and attitude. This paper therefore explores factors contributing to lack of employable skills among Technical and Vocational Education graduates in Tanzania and recommend ways of training technical graduates who are more labour market responsive. The paper utilises Historical Dialectical Materialism approach, which suggests looking into the past and present in order to properly understand why contemporary technical education graduates lack employable skills and how to fix the problem. Drawing on secondary data and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders the findings show that lack of job competencies among graduates fundamentally emanates from poor training at primaryand secondary levels resulting from incompetent teachers and inadequate facilities. The problem is further fuelled by ineffective curriculum, incompetent lecturers, less emphasis on general knowledge and skills as well as lack of career guidance at highertraining levels. Furthermore, these weaknesses have been constantly fertilised by ineffective development as well as unfavourable educational policies and reforms.
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