It was a joyous moment for Nyang’oma Technical Training Institute (TTI) for the Deaf, as it was the overall winner at the Lake Region TVET Fair and Skills Competition.
The institute clinched top trophies in most categories. Its performance was praised as a testament to its commitment to equipping trainees with the right competencies and skills.
Hosted in Nyang’oma, Bondo Sub-County, the event brought together over 36 technical and vocational institutions from the Lake Region to showcase innovations, research, robotics, and skills. The colourful event celebrated creativity, problem-solving, and inclusivity, drawing parents, leaders, and education stakeholders.
The elated Nyang’oma TTI for the Deaf Principal, Collete Omondi, stated that the institute is up to the task and is equipping its trainees with special needs with the requisite skills and competencies, just like regular institutions. She affirmed that inclusivity, integration and leaving no one behind are their focus, resultantly in stellar performance in the exhibitions.
Dr Meshack Opwora, TVET Director of Quality Assurance, praised the region for its superb organisation and outstanding quality of exhibitions. He commended the innovations as exceeding expectations and urged institutions to commercialise projects to create employment opportunities and contribute to solving societal challenges.
Speaking during his visit to preside over the Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutes (KATTI) Lake Region TVET fair and skills competition, held at Nyang’oma Technical Institute for the Deaf in Bondo sub-county, the director acknowledged the region for the innovations he described as tough and exceeding expectations, geared towards solving societal problems.
“The purpose of the TVET fairs and skills competition is to inculcate in trainees the culture of innovation and also to improve their skills and creativity, which is very important for the economy. We expect that the innovations will be reinvested to help mitigate the economic impacts on our society. This fair has a lot of quality projects that are very promising from the various departments in our institutes,” he noted.
Dr Opwora counselled the innovators on the need to commercialise the innovations for employment creation.
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“The missing link is that our innovations, though promising, have never been furthered to commercialisation. This is why the state department for TVET has now taken up the issue, and now we require that in every institution we are promoting Income Generating Activities since we envisage institutions that have industries to help us solve the issues of unemployment,” he pointed out.
The director, on that note, urged the various Boards of Governors of institutions to take up the innovations with utmost seriousness to commercialise the projects and create employment opportunities for trainees even after they have completed their training.
“Our trainees must also ensure they patent the innovations so that they are not stolen. They must also ensure collaboration with the industry and other sector players so that they can be upgraded and be used for commercialisation even after school,” he advised.
KATTI Lake region chairman Dr Paul Makori, while observing that the skills, research, and robotics exhibitions were top-notch, also encouraged the trainees that the current modular system is best suited, as it is skills-oriented, unlike in the past when TVETs were knowledge-based.
“The long-standing notion in our people has been a negative attitude towards TVET, and even the trainees were engaging in innovations for the sake of it, without knowing that the ideas and innovations could sort out the problems existing in society. It’s high time the trainers and trainees conceptualised that in competing in these exhibitions, we are also solving the societal problems and we will require and ensure that all the successful innovations are transitioned to the market,” stated Dr Makori, Principal Riragia TVC in Kisii County.
Joseph Kawala, Principal of Riatiriba TVC, who is also the research chair at the Lake Region KATTI, said that the event brings trainees together to showcase their skills and learn from other innovations. He said they select the best innovations from the national competitions to participate in before the international fair in China.
Asha Bakari, Principal of Siala Institute in Rongo sub-county, noted that the TVET fair is a valuable experience, but also regretted the existing gap in innovating and implementing these initiatives.
She, however, acknowledged the dual training model in TVET institutions, where trainees also experience real-time on-the-job training attachments in the industry, which enables them to identify existing gaps, thereby helping them return and improve their innovations.
By Erick Nyayiera
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