Employer Skills Demand, TVET Graduate Competence, and Industry–Training Alignment in Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

This study examined employer skill requirements, perceived TVET graduate competence, skills gaps, workplace-readiness challenges, emerging technology requirements, and opportunities for stronger industry–training collaboration in Mombasa County, Kenya. The article draws primarily on the Industry Employer Survey undertaken as a quantitative component of the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) feasibility study on market-aligned TVET programmes. Data from 180 complete employer responses covering all six sub-counties of Mombasa County were analysed using descriptive statistics, internal-consistency reliability tests, chi-square tests of association, Kruskal–Wallis analysis, Spearman rank-order correlations, and effect-size measures. Employers placed exceptionally high importance on communication (M = 4.93), customer service (M = 4.91), work ethics (M = 4.90), professionalism (M = 4.90), and teamwork (M = 4.89). Ninety percent of employers had hired TVET graduates during the preceding three years, and 93.3% rated their competence as good or excellent. Nevertheless, quality-control knowledge (M = 3.34), leadership and initiative (M = 3.27), and industry exposure (M = 3.27) were prominent perceived gaps. Recruitment difficulty increased significantly with company size, H(4) = 26.44, p < .001, ε² = .125, while perceived skill gaps were positively associated with recruitment difficulty, ρ = .319, p < .001. Automation/artificial intelligence was identified by 98.3% of employers as a critical emerging skill area, followed by data analysis (81.7%). Only 25.6% of employers were currently collaborating with a TVET institution, but 99.4% expressed willingness to collaborate more closely with TUM-TVET. The findings support an industry-integrated, competency-based and future-oriented TVET model built around work-based learning, employability skills, digital transformation, structured employer partnerships, and continuous labour-market feedback.