INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP ON DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL SKILLS IN ENGINEERING TRAINING IN PUBLIC TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN NAIROBI COUNTY

Abstract

Dynamic trends in the engineering industry have continued to call for quality training to enhance the industrial skills of engineering graduates to meet the challenges of the 21st century industry. However, there is a growing skills gap which is a multi-faceted problem when highly skilled engineers are in short supply and high demand. This lauds the essence of public-private partnership in pooling resources, knowledge and experiences to build industrial skills amongst engineering trainees efficiently. Thus the study was guided by the following specific objectives; to determine the influence of partnering in engineering internships on industrial skills development in engineering training, to examine the influence of partnering in infrastructure development on industrial skills development in engineering training, to analyse the influence of partnering in capacity building of trainers on industrial skills development in engineering training in technical vocational education and training institutions in Nairobi County. This study was guided by Cognitive Learning Theory which was proposed by Jean Piaget in 1930. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population was 334 HoDs, course tutors and electrical engineering trainers. The study used Slovin’s formula to calculate the sample size which is 182. The respondents were selected using a multistage sampling process. Data was collected by use of a questionnaire which was piloted for testing reliability and validity. Data was analyzed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 package and presented using tables. From the findings, the coefficient of determination (R square) of 0.318 indicated that the model explained only 31.8% of the variation or change in industrial skills development in engineering training. Engineering internship (t =2.867, P<.05), infrastructure (t =3.779, P<.05) and Capacity building (t =5.459, P<.05). The study findings indicate that the engineering internship, infrastructure, and Capacity building significantly influence industrial skills development in engineering training in technical vocational education and training institutions in Nairobi County. Therefore, TVET institutions should consider strengthening engineering internship, infrastructure, and Capacity building using a policy framework to enhance their potential industrial skills development in engineering training. The findings of the study are of significance to TVET and the stakeholders in improving the industrial skills development engineering trainees in TVET through public-private partnerships.