Gichugu: Technical and Vocational College (TVC) is set to break from tradition during its inaugural graduation ceremony by replacing conventional academic gowns with professional attire reflecting the graduates’ respective trades. The college, established about two years ago, will hold its first graduation ceremony next month, marking a major milestone in its development.
According to Kenya News Agency, the move follows a directive by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Esther Muoria urging TVET institutions to replace traditional academic gowns with discipline-specific professional work attire during graduation ceremonies. Gichugu TVC Principal Joseph Kimemia said the institution had embraced the directive as part of efforts to demonstrate the practical nature of TVET training and strengthen the connection between graduates and industry.
‘It is high time that TVET institutions put down their graduation gowns and went into professional attire,’ Kimemia said, adding that the college had made it a priority to have its graduates wear attire associated with their respective trades. ‘When you look at what we have today, we have agriculturists; they are wearing their agriculture attire. We have got people who work in the cosmetology industry; they are wearing their trade attire. So that day will be a great day as this country takes a serious, drastic change in terms of communicating to the industry,’ he said.
Kimemia said the approach would help showcase the skills acquired by TVET graduates while sending a message to industry players that the institutions were producing a workforce ready for the job market. He challenged employers and industry players to work closely with TVET institutions and absorb graduates into the workplace.
The principal said the college was also seeking to change the mindset among young people that graduation should primarily be followed by a search for formal employment. ‘We are going a notch higher to solve the problem of unemployment by talking to the industry and at the same time telling our young ones. We are not graduating you to go and look for jobs, but we are graduating you to go and create jobs so this country can be able to move,’ he said.
Kimemia also highlighted the importance of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in giving formal recognition to workers who have acquired practical skills through experience without necessarily undergoing formal classroom training. He said many experienced workers had continued practising their trades without formal certification, creating challenges in recognising their skills within the labour market.
‘What we are calling for now is implementation of prior learning (RPL). Gichugu Technical and Vocational College is leading in making sure that we have got big numbers in that line,’ he said. The inaugural graduation is expected to include more than 200 RPL candidates, some of them aged above 50 and 60 years, who have worked in different fields for years but lacked formal recognition of their skills.
Kimemia attributed the growing uptake of RPL at the college partly to the intervention of area Member of Parliament Robert Gichumu, who sponsored more than 200 RPL candidates. He said the college was targeting to enroll another 100 candidates as it continues with admissions under the government programme. ‘We still continue admitting as per government directive. Our youth can get an opportunity to get government scholarships, and also the Recognition of Prior Learning team can get an opportunity,’ he said.
Kimemia noted that RPL does not operate on fixed admission periods, allowing workers to seek assessment whenever they are ready. He said the college assesses candidates both within the institution and at their workplaces, enabling them to demonstrate their skills in familiar environments. ‘One of the things that has made it a success is that as an institution we’ve made sure that we go to the field where these workers are, and we assess them from there, so as they are assessed from their comfort zone,’ he said.
Mary Wanjiku, a student, said the college had provided students with an opportunity to acquire practical skills that could help them become self-reliant and pursue employment opportunities locally and abroad. She thanked the college administration and the government for supporting students through various financial assistance programmes, saying the training had equipped them with skills that would be useful after graduation.
