Early Uptake of Technical Skills in School: Building East Africa's Future Workforce

East Africa’s youth are a socially and economically significant majority between the ages of 14 and 35 who have the potential to determine the region’s future. Excluding South Sudan, about 80% of the estimated 146 million East Africans are below the age of 35 years. However, the region’s technical skills education remains severely underdeveloped, with less than 3% of upper secondary students enrolled in vocational programmes across Kenya, Tanzania, and other regional countries.

Overview of East Africa's technical skills landscape

Early technical skill uptake and early vocationalisation are often merged due to their parallelism in intent, emphasising practical skills early. However, they vary in delivery; one through exposure and practice, and the other through structured curriculum integration.

Despite its proven benefits, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) attainment among African youth remains limited. Only 6.5% of youth aged 15-29 across 43 countries have completed a TVET programme. This low level of attainment signals a significant shortfall in access to skills-based education, bearing a wasted demographic dividend potential for East Africa.

The urgency of intervention lies in the large proportion of post-primary educated youth (56-82%) that converge to create a ‘double dividend’ moment for East Africa. There is an opportunity to launch the region on a firm transition to a knowledge-based economy through developing and harnessing skilled human capital. What will it take to leverage the ‘double dividend’?

The Current State of Technical Skills Education in East Africa

The Regional Skills Gap Crisis

Due to the dynamic job market and availability, it is becoming increasingly difficult to anticipate the skill set necessary for professional success. Education systems currently face fundamental structural changes spanning systemic, policy, economic and perception challenges which persistently undermine technical competency across the region.

Traditionally, TVET is regarded as an opportunity for unemployed youths, students with a weak academic background and the middle-level technicians, in that it helps them to be competitive in the labour market with skills and reduces unemployment and poverty. Vocationally educated individuals are more likely to be qualified for the first jobs and employed sooner than generally educated individuals. 

Additionally, the TVET system has largely neglected the specific training needs of the informal sector. There is no systematic approach to skills development for people already in or seeking to enter the informal sector. Many of the training offers are supply-driven, not based on market assessments and only duplicate formal sector training at very low levels.

Government Initiatives and Policy Evolution

East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration (EASTRIP) Project: A $293 million International Development Association (IDA) credit and grant to support the development and delivery of demand-driven TVET programs for technician training in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania in agriculture, transport, energy, manufacturing, tourism, and ICT sectors.

Tanzania's TVET Expansion Strategy: Building on sustained investments in skills for productive jobs, Tanzania is tripling annual technical and vocational education and training (TVET) enrolment to 1.5 million trainees by 2030.

Kenya's Digital Literacy Programme and TVET transformation: Kenya School of TVET leads trainer education in Eastern and Central Africa, establishing comprehensive frameworks for technical skills integration.

Private Sector Innovation and Challenges

Emergence of specialised technical institutions like CodeImpact democratises tech education across Africa through affordable, accessible STEM programs targeting underserved communities.

The informal sector remains a stronghold of employment, accounting for 58% of non-agricultural employment in 2011. The TVET system has largely neglected the specific training needs of the informal sector. There is no systematic approach to skills development for people already in or seeking to enter the informal sector. Many of the training offers are supply-driven, not based on market assessments and only duplicate formal sector training at very low levels. Some very effective programmes cannot be replicated due to a lack of information exchange and resources.  

Over the last three decades, the governments in the East African region have executed fiscal policies, which have led to high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Despite impressive GDP growth, all four countries face the challenge of a low capacity to provide jobs for the growing supply of educated youth.

Infrastructure Barriers Constraining Technical Skills Education

Physical Infrastructure Deficits

Lack of technical expertise. The absence of a retention plan and a shortage of technological expertise in educational institutions.

Resource availability and maintenance systems. The share of TVET in the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) budget is relatively low, approximately 4% to 7%. Public unit spending is also low by African standards. Training for the informal sector is largely donor-financed.

Infrastructure development faces deep-rooted challenges, for example, delays in obtaining licenses, approvals, and permits, often due to a lack of capacity and motivation by government agencies to get projects off the ground, a lack of coordination between responsible agencies, and community resistance to some projects.

Digital Infrastructure Limitations

Internet connectivity barriers. Access to reliable internet connectivity remains a fundamental challenge affecting technical education delivery across East African schools.

Power supply disruptions. Electrical infrastructure limitations create significant barriers to consistent technical education program delivery, particularly in rural areas where technical skills education is most needed to address economic disparities.

Equipment procurement and sustainability challenges. Technical education programs require specialised equipment that faces procurement challenges, maintenance difficulties, and replacement cost barriers that schools struggle to manage within existing budgetary frameworks.

Emerging Technical Skills Programs and Innovation

Coding and programming education initiatives.

Primary and secondary integration strategies. STEM education initiative demonstrates successful approaches to computer programming mentorship and training through community-driven models that adapt to local resource constraints democratising tech education across Africa.

Direct employment development occupation. Specific skills education creates direct pathways to employment opportunities, for example, solar technicians earn KES 85,000 monthly, and AI specialists command salaries of KES 220,000 and above, demonstrating concrete economic returns on technical education investment.

Robotics and Engineering Skills Development

• Hands-on learning implementation. Integration of robotics curricula in technical skilling develops practical problem-solving capabilities essential for modern engineering applications.

Digital Literacy and ICT Integration

• Digital literacy framework development. Integration of digital literacy in competency-based curriculum for junior secondary schools ensures systematic skill progression from basic computer operations to advanced technical competencies required for modern workforce participation, as is in Uganda.

• STEM transformation through ICT. Leveraging immersive learning experiences that overcome physical infrastructure limitations through virtual laboratories and simulation-based learning.

• Gender-inclusive programs specifically targeting girls in STEM fields address the long-standing underrepresentation through affirmative action and addressing deep-rooted societal barriers to the education of the girl child.

Strategic Solutions and Investment Opportunities

Infrastructure Development Priorities

• Educational infrastructure enhancement strategies: Strategic investments in technical education infrastructure require comprehensive approaches addressing both physical facilities and digital connectivity systems to support sustainable program delivery.

• Power and connectivity solutions: Technical education programs require reliable electrical supply and internet connectivity, integrated solutions that combine grid expansion with renewable energy systems like solar and improved telecommunications infrastructure.

• Equipment procurement and maintenance systems: Sustainable technical education programs require systematic approaches to equipment acquisition, maintenance, and replacement that account for local technical capacity and supply chain limitations while ensuring program continuity.

• Public-private partnership models: Blended finance approaches with corporate social responsibility investments in infrastructure development to create sustainable funding mechanisms that leverage private sector expertise with public sector commitment to comprehensive technical education delivery.

Capacity Building and Skills Development

• Teacher training and professional development: Comprehensive teacher training programs for technical subjects address the shortage of qualified instructors through systematic professional development initiatives that combine technical competency with pedagogical effectiveness.

• Regional collaboration frameworks: East African Community coordination mechanisms facilitate standardised technical certification systems that enable workforce mobility while strengthening regional technical capabilities through knowledge sharing, resource optimisation, and ensuring quality across the region.

Future Outlook and Strategic Recommendations

Emerging Technology Integration

Next-generation technical skills focus. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning education integration in the secondary curriculum prepares students for advanced technological careers while addressing regional economic development priorities in digital transformation sectors.

Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency education are a game-changer for financial technology development and digital economy participation across East African markets.

Internet of Things (IoT) and smart systems development skills best position students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution with high regional growth potential and international market connectivity.

Regional Collaboration and Investment Priorities

Industry-academia bilateral partnerships to directly bridge educational institutions to employment opportunities through apprenticeship programs and internship initiatives that gap theoretical learning with practical application across the region.

Strategic public and private sector investment coordination ensures sustainable funding for comprehensive technical education infrastructure and program delivery across the region.

Conclusion

Strategic early integration of technical skills education can transform East Africa's future workforce without raising the old debate of ‘to vocationalise or not to vocationalise’, whilst enabling East Africa to harness her double dividend potential. However, urgent coordinated investment in technical education infrastructure, comprehensive teacher training programs, and sustainable public-private partnerships is essential for realising regional technical workforce development potential.