Aligning NC(V) TVET curriculum with Industry Needs: A Pathway to Enhanced Vocational Education.

Abstract

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges’ mandate is to address the skills shortages in the country by ensuring that the TVET college graduates meet the industry's needs. The purpose of this study was to establish if the NC(V) TVET Business Studies curriculum programs are aligned and responsive to real workplace demands. However, there are still issues that are hindering the fulfilment of this mandate. Curriculum alignment was identified as one of the contributing factors arising from the mismatch of skills between the TVET college graduates and the real world of work. The study was supported by the review of related literature. A qualitative inquiry was used to gather the perspectives of the participants on the responsiveness of the NC(V) Business studies curriculum to industry needs. In-depth interviews were used to collect data from 3 lecturers, 2 TVET graduate students and 1 Workplace-Based Experience(WBE) officer and these participants were purposively selected for this study. Thematic analysis technique was used to analyse the data. The findings of the study revealed that the NC(V) Business studies curriculum is not aligned with the industry needs which makes it difficult for NCV TVET graduates to be absorbed into the work industry. The study, therefore, recommends that the NC(V) Business studies curriculum be reviewed to meet the industry requirements. During the curriculum review, the study recommends that lecturers, students and industries must be part of the review meeting. Furthermore, the study recommends that as part of NCV training, there should be more practical work done than theory work. Finally, the study recommends the upskilling and reskilling of TVET college lecturers in line with the industry's needs.