The Ministry of Education, through the State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), revealed diploma courses which have high job demand.
Despite many students rushing for undergraduate courses, Principal Secretary (PS) for TVET, Esther Muoria, explained that the country's future depended on TVET graduates.
She, in particular, revealed that diploma courses in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) were in high demand in the current job market.
“The courses are in higher demand based on data from the national economic survey.
“Skills gained from STEM courses are the future of the economy,” she explained why students should rush to register for those courses.
According to PS Muoria, the Ministry of Education estimated that TVET courses will grow in popularity by over 8 per cent by 2030.
“Recent events such as the pandemic changed work positioning in an unprecedented way.
“Consequently, the world has embraced technological skills faster than previously anticipated to manage the prevailing trends,” she explained the rising popularity of STEM courses.
Muoria added that students who enrol for STEM courses would be highly employable largely because the industrial revolution requires people to have STEM skills to undertake functions in the expanding digital economy and other related services.
According to The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), STEM courses are classified into 6 clusters; Engineering and Technology, Environmental Sciences, Applied Sciences, Health Sciences, Food Science and Computing and Information Technology.
Diploma courses in Engineering and Technology include Agricultural Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Electrical Instrumentation and Control.
For Environmental Sciences, students can take a diploma in Environmental Science, while for Applied Sciences, the diploma courses available include; Applied Biology, Analytical Chemistry and Applied Statistics.
Diploma courses in Health Sciences are; Community Health, Pharmaceutical Technology, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Community Health and HIV Management and Medical Laboratory Technology.
Students interested in Food Science can take courses in; Baking Technology, Food and Beverage Production, Food and Beverage, Food and Beverage Production Sales and Services, Food and Beverage Production Services, Food Science Technology and Food Processing Technology.
Courses available for Computing and Information Technology are; Information Communication Technology (ICT) and IT and Computer Information Technology.
