ACTIVITIES TO STRENGTHEN SKILLS AND
EMPLOYABILITY THROUGH THE
INTEGRATION OF ICT AND E-LEARNING: A
CASE OF CHEPKOILEL UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE, KENYA
A PAPER PRESENTED BY:
PROF. JOHN SIMIYU
E-MAIL: jwsi54@yahoo.com
A T T H E 5 TH A N N U A L U N E S C O UNEVOC ICT IN TVET SUMMIT IN
DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA
25-27 MAY, 2011
Abstract
• Information Communication and Technology (ICT)
is the world’s fastest growing economic activity with
Kenya’s ICT industry growing at a promising rate.
• Countries that have harnessed the potential of ICT
have attained significant social and economic
development.
• There are indications that ICT creates jobs through
direct employment in the ICT industries and
indirectly through ICT enabled and ancillary
enterprises.
Abstract contd.
 Chepkoilel University College, a constituent college
of Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, aims to
implement activities to strengthen skills and
employability through the integration of ICT and elearning in its programmes.
Introduction
• Information Communication and Technology (ICT)
is the world’s fastest growing economic activity.
• Kenya’s ICT industry is growing at a promising rate.
• This is a direct result of the positive changes being
experienced in the business environment following
the decisive steps taken by the government in 2004.
• The figure below indicates the number of African
countries which showed effort toward ICT policy
formulation by the year 2000 and 2005
Introduction contd.
Figure showing Progress of ICT policy making
in African countries
Introduction contd.
 If that be the trend, by 2010, the countries with ICT
policy should have doubled to 60.
Introduction contd. - ICT plans by African
region
Introduction contd.
 West Africa has a high prevalence of national ICT
plans but may have not been revised in years.
 North Africa has the highest implementation rate.
 At best, 60% of African nations have ICT plans and
only half of these have been drafted in the past few
years.
Introduction contd.
 Central Africa is making the most relative progress in
terms of official ICT vision.
 NB: Data is challenging to obtain.
The Kenyan scenario
 The government of Kenya has invested in the
development of an enabling environment with
modern communication infrastructure.
 The completion of the optical undersea fiber cable
dubbed TEAMS in 2009 to connect Kenya to the rest
of the world through Mombasa will address the most
critical infrastructural requirement for the
development of ICT
The Kenyan scenario contd.
 The project is expected to address the connection
and open up rural Kenya to ICT.
 The government of Kenya recognizes the role of ICT
in the social and economic development.
 The government has promulgated a national ICT
policy based on economic Recovery Strategy for
Wealth and Employment Creation 2003-2007 .
General benefits of ICT
 Use of ICT may be associated with new patterns of
job creation and job loss.
 There are indications to suggest that jobs could be
lost through obsolescence, automation and
disintermediation.
 While ICT and e-learning replace old tasks and
occupations through automation, the same
technologies also create new tasks and occupations
whereby ICT products and services generate new
jobs.
General benefits of ICT contd.
 ICT creates jobs through direct employment in the
ICT industries and indirectly through ICT enabled
and ancillary enterprises.
 The creation of industries such as the software,
computer, microelectronic and GSM industries
brings about new employment opportunities.
 Countries that have harnessed the potential of ICT
have attained significant social and economic
development.
 Such countries are rapidly transforming into
information knowledge based economies.
General benefits of ICT contd.
 Countries where ICT sector is liberalized tend to
have a higher telecommunications penetration as
reflected in the increased growth of economy with
more jobs being created directly and indirectly and
more positive impact on poverty alleviation.
Status of ICT at the College
 Although the status of ICT uptake at the college is
relatively low, the college takes cognizance of the
critical role ICT and e-learning play in education.
 The college reckons that while education is a
significant predictor of employment, ICT and elearning, when integrated in the disciplines,
especially TVET, can become the most impactful
things a person can do to improve employability
Status of ICT at the College contd.
 The department of Technology education houses the
UNEVOC Centre in the newly established Chepkoilel
University College, a constituent college of Moi
University.
 The Strategic Plan (2011-2015) of the college
contains the ICT policy that addresses the basic
needs of staff and students in as far as requisite ICT
skills and techniques in quest for knowledge in
various specialties are concerned
Status of ICT at the College contd.
 ICT skills and techniques are harmonized in terms of
which skills are sufficient and at what level in order
to improve employability.
 The question is – What specific ICT and e-learning
related skills are necessary for getting, keeping and
doing well on a job, hence creating and sustaining
more jobs?
Status of ICT at the College contd.
 The college has embarked on putting up an
ambitious programme and infrastructure in ICT and
e-learning.
 The college ICT policy is to unify all sources of
information by their interconnection on a single high
speed network to:


Carry out research
Access student information held at the administrator
Status of ICT at the College contd.



Access bibliographic information from the library and other
remote database.
Access internet
Communicate via e-mail (intranet or internet)
School of Education
 The school houses Technology education
department, the home of the UNEVOC Centre.
 The department offers vocational education and
technical skills development for teachers to teach in
technical training institutions in the country.
 The graduates either are employed or go out to
create jobs or employment.
School of Education contd.
 Application skills are integrated in technology
courses.
School of Agriculture and Biotechnology
 The school is strategically situated in the White
Highlands – the granary of wheat and maize
farming in the country.
 The school recognizes that value chain through the
introduction of appropriate e-agriculture
programmes holds a very huge potential for
generating large volumes of decent jobs.
School of Agriculture and Biotechnology
contd.
 The e-agriculture programme in extension provides
the platform for information sharing between
agricultural researchers and extension workers .
 There is a potential job creation of extension
workers, researchers and others involved in content
development.
School of Agriculture and Biotechnology
contd.
 It is hoped that these programmes will also
contribute tremendously to empowering farmers
with relevant skills and information to boost their
productivity and profitability.
School of Business and Economics
 The school is relatively new having been re-
established after the former school was moved to
main campus of Moi University.
 Without a doubt, embarking on an e-business effort
requires as much thinking about business strategy as
it does about technology (ICT).
School of Business and Economics contd.
 E-business is integrated in the teaching of the
courses whereby learning how to use internet to
connect with the customers, partners and suppliers
is done.
 This transforms the existing and potential businesses
to make them more efficient hence creating more
jobs and employment.
School of Business and Economics contd.
 The term e-business is used interchangeably with e-
commerce although e-commerce refers only to online transactions of selling goods and services which
the government of Kenya plans to implement.
 Incorporation of e-payment systems and e-signature
acts in the teaching and learning should transform
the growth of e-commerce graduates in the country.
School of Science
 The largest school that houses the main computer
programmes in the college.
 General aspects of computing are provided to
students in the department of mathematics and
computer science.
 Specialized knowledge application in ICT is offered
in the three schools as discussed above.
Entrepreneurship
 Entrepreneurship skills are employed in the
programmes school-wide so that graduates do not
always look up to the government to provide jobs.
 This encourages graduates to be innovative, creative
and job creators rather than job seekers.
Conclusion
 Evidence abounds about the significance of ICT in
socio-economic development of Kenya as a country
just as in any other country.
 It is hoped that Chepkoilel University College
provides a primary step toward strengthening skills
and employability in its teaching and learning
through integration of ICT and e-learning in its
diverse nature of programmes.
ICT practical class in session
The End
Thank you very kindly