Abstract
There is a common perception that technical and vocational education is the ultimate solution for providing industries and business with skilled and semi-skilled manpower. It is considered as a dual type of education system that would allow students to transfer what they have learned in their schools and colleges into real work environment. It is a combination of education that encompasses theory and practice where students spend a certain time in industrial and business premises to acquire the needed knowledge, skills and attitudes. Due to the shortage of skilled and semi-skilled indigenous manpower, the gulf states (e.g., Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates) have forged technical and vocational education colleges and institutions with the aim to supply essential sectors of their economy (e.g., oil, electricity and water, health sector, infrastructure), with qualified national manpower able to manage, maintain, and adapt the imported technology to suite local environments. However, the success of technical and vocational institution in achieving an acceptable outcome would, to great extent, depend on the quality of the management of technical and vocational institutions. The fact is managing technical and vocational education is completely different from managing a formal education (e.g., formal colleges and universities). This research paper examines how successful is the management of technical and vocational colleges and institutions in providing local industries with indigenous skilled and semi-skilled qualified manpower. The research is based on extensive field work that encompasses a review of the related literature, interviews with sample of heads of supervisors/heads of departments at the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Electricity and Water, and the oil sector in order to assess the quality of graduates from technical and vocational colleges and institutions. Finally, the research will argue that unless the management of technical and vocational colleges and institutions recognize and appreciate the value of building a strong linkage with local industries, its contribution in tackling the shortage of skilled and semi-skilled indigenous in essential sectors on the economy will be below the government expectations, thus continuing relaying on expatriates for years ahead.
Highlights
The importance of technical and vocational education is highly stress in related literature
Technical and vocational education is understood as consisting of education, training and kills development for different jobs (UNESCO, 2015), educational and training for careers knowledge and skills with the aim of social equity (IGI Global, 2021), providing students with practical skills, know-how, and understanding necessary for a specific job or trade (INEE, 2021), offering students the skills, knowledge, attitudes, ethics habits, and moral values that are in urgent need in the society (Ministry of Education, Youth & Information, 2021) and allowing student s to gain practical experience in their selected career pathway before even graduating from schools or colleges (Jens, 2021)
There is no doubt that technical and vocational education would enhance students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are in most needed by industries and business
Summary
The importance of technical and vocational education is highly stress in related literature. When employers searching for new graduates, they are interested in those graduates who can accomplished the assigned job on time (Jens, 2021), career readiness which is the key to ensure speed entrance into workforce market (NACE, 2021), people or students who are creatively approach problems and jobs (Deanna 2020), graduates who have a technical skill, and thinking skills to adapt to work circumstances (Flores, et al, 2012), ability to effectively communicate and exchange of information and data with others (Goutham, 2013), and employers require soft skills such as problem-solving skills, communications skills, organizational skills, interpersonal skills (Sodipo, 2014) This means that graduates must enhance and develop their skills, knowledge, and attitudes to respond to the continuing changing in industrial and business production diversity
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