Abstract:
Technical, vocational education and training (TVET) in Kenya has undergone major changes since colonialists
introduced it in the nineteenth century. While the colonial government viewed TVET as a social and economic
weapon against “an academic inferior” race, the present day TVET is viewed as the answer to economic and
financial freedom and the solution to youth unemployment, skills acquisition, lifelong learning and fulfillment of
a country’s ideal. This paper takes the reader through documented progression of TVET from the nineteenth
century to the present day. The paper relies on government policies and research documents to chronologically
detail the events leading to present day TVET noting that
TVET has evolved in the areas of science, technology and innovation to provide skills that are expected to propel
Kenya to middle-level industrialized status by the year 2030.
