Competency Based Education and Training: A Fresh Green Leaf from the Australian Context for TVET in Africa

Abstract

The labour market in most developing countries in Africa has experienced challenges of qualified human resource to carry out their desired functions. The academic institutions are supposed to produce graduates who would readily fit into the job market. The TVET institutions were designed to produce graduates with technical skills to work in the industrial sector and other sectors of the economy in order to accelerate economic development. However there have been many complaints from many employers on non-competence of most TVET graduates and this has seriously incapacitated economic development in Africa. Many employers have to spend time retraining the TVET graduates which wastes time and resources that would have been used in production. This paper reviews literature on competence based education and training and draws important lessons for application, policy formulation and improvement in the African systems. Competency-based education could serve as a game changer in Technical and Vocational Education, delivering high-quality education experiences that lead to demonstrated learning and mastery at an affordable price.