INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARD (IAB)

Background

Kenya Coast National Polytechnic (KCNP) was competitively selected by the World Bank and Government of Kenya to be a regional flagship TVET institution in January 2018 under East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP). The project involves three countries; Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania of which five TVET institutions were selected from Kenya. KCNP is therefore developing a regional centre of excellence in Marine Transport & Port logistics, a centre which aims to develop competent graduates for the maritime sector.

The main development objective for EASTRIP is to increase the access and improve the quality of programs in Marine transport and Port Logistics

To achieve this, we are forming an Industry Advisory Board (IAB) comprising of representatives from marine and logistics industry, the hospitality industry, shipping, clearing and forwarding, Kenya Coast National Polytechnic and other professional organisations who have expertise in the skills and competencies needed for the programs being offered.

The board shall have a chairman who will be a member from the industry and a secretary who will be a representative from KCNP.

The purpose of the Board will be

  • To provide expert strategic advice in regards to programmes being developed, assessment of the students in line with the CBET framework and Policy Guidelines
  • Assist with the selection of the equipment to be purchased under the project.
  • Facilitate programs such as attachment and internships for both staff and students
  • Their role will also be to assist in generating new ideas that will facilitate competency learning and quality programmes being developed that are relevant to the labour market’s requirements.
  • The committee members will be advisors who will offer their support by advocating for quality technical education as most will be industry experts in various technical sectors.
  • To facilitate partnerships between Kenya Coast National Polytechnic and the industries.
  • Assist in connecting our graduates with companies (both local and multinational) for purposes of sea time and employment.
  • Facilitate compliance with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and regulatory requirements and accreditations.

Scope of the Work

  1. Improving the Curriculum Development Process Delivery
    • Improving the quality of the Industrial Occupational standards and sharing best practices that meet global standards and are aligned to emerging market trends. Serve as ambassadors of the newly developed programs by providing a platform that encourages sharing of ideas and connecting with members of the broader society especially in the private sector.
    • Overseeing Curriculum Implementation: Ensuring all developed programs are demand-driven and coordinating the implementation of the developed curriculum with input from private sector through streamlining activities such as assessment of students by the private sector companies.
    • Facilitate Capacity Building for the trainers of the newly developed programs; as well as organise refresher courses. Working hand in hand with the trainers and programs’ staff to ensure that the programs are delivering learning that is up to date and current; and there is no mismatch in skills being developed to those being required by the labour market.
  1. Stakeholder Engagement
    • Facilitate the industry linkage in regards to placements by assisting them in setting up internships & attachment programs; as well as linking the students with opportunities for sea time and employment.
    • Ensure there are forums and round table meetings being held to establish private sector partnerships for ease of absorption into industry as well as with County Governments for the trainees to be absorbed into some of the public projects as interns or attachés so as to ensure application of their practical skills.
    • Provide relevant support to KCNP linking the institution with the industries that have resources that can be shared during training, for sustainability
  1. TVET Policy and regulatory Compliance
    • Regularly reviewing the programs and providing recommendations so as to ensure the project continues to comply with the TVET Reforms and requirements of the regulators. Ensuring Monitoring and Evaluation is conducted by the centres so as to assess impact and ensure projected outcomes have been realised.
    • Creating a national TVET enabling environment by way of holding regular consultative meetings to find common ground with other key stakeholders; while encouraging the development of a governance framework so as to ensure the sustainable growth of the centre.