Kenya and Ghana Race Ahead in Technical Training, South Africa Loses Ground
Kenya and Ghana are increasing investment in technical education to address future labor market needs. Rwanda is also prioritizing vocational training, although funding remains less transparent. South Africa is moving in the opposite direction, with falling enrollment despite high youth unemployment. Technical and vocational education has become a greater priority. . .
Kenya and Ghana are increasing investment in technical education to address future labor market needs. Rwanda is also prioritizing vocational training, although funding remains less transparent. South Africa is moving in the opposite direction, with falling enrollment despite high youth unemployment. Technical and vocational education has become a greater priority across Sub-Saharan Africa, but progress differs widely by country. Kenya and Ghana have increased investment to build a more skilled workforce, while South Africa struggles to keep students in its technical colleges despite persistent labor shortages. At the end of June, Kenya reaffirmed its ambition to make technical and vocational education and training (TVET) a key driver of innovation and job creation. Speaking at the 8th Annual Multidisciplinary International Conference and the 6th National Skills Competition (CARI 2026) in Kisumu, Esther Muoria, Principal Secretary in charge of TVET, urged technical institutions to do more to commercialize their innovations. "Tomorrow's technicians will need not only to understand how systems work but also to make them safer, cleaner, and more efficient,"she said. The strategy is backed by significant public investment. According to the Ministry of TVET, Kenya has allocated KES 58. 5 billion ($452. 8 million) to technical and vocational education for the 2026/27 fiscal year. Further west, Ghana is pursuing a similar path. In June 2026, the World Bank approved a $300 million program aimed at transforming secondary education to better prepare students for employment. Kenya and Ghana bet on practical skillsIn Kenya, the new funding will support modern infrastructure, equipment upgrades, and instructor training, according to the Ministry of Finance's budget documents. The investment also forms part of the third phase of the country's partnership with China, covering 70 institutions and 1,190 instructors. A separate partnership with Italy focuses on robotics and renewable energy. Additional cooperation with Austria and the World Bank's East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP) is strengthening maritime training. Annual tuition fees have also been reduced from roughly $812 to $518. The government also plans to recruit between 8,000 and 10,000 technical graduates for affordable housing projects. Kenya currently has 825,484 students enrolled across 3,126 technical institutions. Ghana is starting from a much lower base. According to Fred Kyei Asamoah, Director General of the Commission for TVET, only 10% of Ghanaian students were enrolled in formal technical and vocational education in 2021. At the time, he set a medium-term goal of increasing that share to 25%, followed by a long-term target of 50%. The World Bank-backed Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance and Results toward Jobs (STARR-J) program is designed to help close that gap. The $300 million initiative is expected to reach 2. 2 million students in nearly 1,000 public schools. "This project will help Ghana address some of the most pressing challenges facing secondary education by expanding learning spaces, improving education quality, and strengthening the alignment between education, skills, and jobs,"said Robert Taliercio, the World Bank's Country Director for Ghana. Without intervention, Ghana could face a shortage of more than 850,000 effective secondary school places by 2040. Rwanda follows a similar pathIn the Great Lakes region, Rwanda is pursuing comparable objectives, although public data on funding remain more limited. The country's June 11, 2026 budget speech lists technical centers of excellence among the priorities under its social transformation agenda but does not specify dedicated funding. The most recent figure available dates to the previous fiscal year, when the Rwanda TVET Board received RWF 25. 7 billion ($17. 5 million) for the 2025/26 budget. These national strategies reflect a broader continental trend. Construction, energy, and digital industries are among the sectors generating the strongest demand for practical skills, but countries are advancing at different speeds. South Africa moves in the opposite directionAgainst that regional backdrop, South Africa stands out for different reasons. The country has 50 public technical colleges, according to the Department of Higher Education and Training. However, enrollment declined from 560,446 students in the 2024/25 academic year to 432,505 in 2025/26. That fell well short of the government's target of 480,547 students, leaving a gap of about 48,042 enrollments. The figures were disclosed in April in an official parliamentary response by Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela. He attributed the decline to annual budget increases of only 4% to 5%, which have failed to keep pace with rising operating costs. "The primary constraint remains the fiscal environment," Manamela said, adding that the figures remain subject to final verification. The financial constraints come at a time of exceptionally high unemployment. According to Statistics South Africa, the unemployment rate among people aged 15 to 34 reached 45. 8% in the first quarter of 2026. The national unemployment rate stood at 32. 7%, affecting more than 8. 1 million South Africans, compared with 7. 79 million at the end of 2025. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has also pointed to a persistent mismatch between workforce qualifications and labor market needs. In itsSkills Supply and Demandreport, published in 2022 by South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training, the OECD estimated that 28. 1% of workers were underqualified for their jobs, while 24. 3% were overqualified. Félicien Houindo Lokossou