TVET Graduates’ Tracer Study and Employability in Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26437/ajar.v10i2.820Keywords:
Employability. graduates. ordinal logistic regression. tracer study. tvetAbstract
Purpose: This study examines the employment status and factors influencing TVET graduate employability.
Design/Methodology/Approach: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A 46-item structured questionnaire was randomly administered online to participants to collect data. A total of 374 responses were obtained from the survey. A descriptive and inferential model was adopted to analyse the empirical data.
Findings: This study revealed that 69.50% of TVET graduates had employment. Of these, 24.20% had permanent jobs, 39.20% were self-employed, and 36.60% had part-time or contract positions. The study also found that 58.50% of employed graduates worked in TVET organisations, while 41.5% worked in non-TVET-related organisations. The private sector was the primary employer of TVET graduates, while the government sector employed 29.60%.
Research Limitation: This study examined graduates of technical and vocational programmes at Kumasi Technical University from 2015 to 2021. The low response rate, however, may have impacted the inferences drawn from the survey data.
Practical Implication: This study has implications for understanding the educational and employment experiences of graduates from technical universities in Ghana.
Social Implication: This study aims to help stakeholders at technical universities develop policies to address infrastructure and skills gaps that impact the employability of TVET graduates.
Originality/Value: This study used an inferential model to examine factors affecting graduates’ employability and satisfaction levels in Ghana's higher technical and vocational education.
References
Akyeampong, K. (2010). Educational expansion and access in Ghana: A review. Journal of International Development, 22(3), 450-467. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1576
Alagaraja, M. & Arthur-Mensah, N. (2013). Exploring technical vocational education and training systems in emerging markets: A case study on Ghana. European Journal of Training and Development, 37(9), 835-850.
Alvarez, M. T. S. (2020). Employment trend of graduates of bachelor of science in business administration major in marketing of the college of business, accountancy and public administration, Isabela State University. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(11), 313-317.
Amankwah, E., & Oppong, K. (2018). Entrepreneurship education and TVET graduate employability in Ghana. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 7(3), 230-244. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971355718777323
Ampadu, K., Asare, E., & Aboagye, B. (2021). Employability challenges for technical university graduates in Ghana. International Journal of Social Sciences and Education, 11(4), 50-68.
Ankomah, Y., & Amoako, J. (2020). Industrial training and employability outcomes in Ghanaian TVET institutions. Journal of Technical Education and Training, 12(2), 78-90. https://doi.org/10.30880/jtet.2020.12.02.008
Arkorful, V., & Abaidoo, N. (2019). The impact of internships on TVET graduate employment in Ghana. International Journal of Educational Development, 65, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2019.05.002
Boateng, K., & Ofori-Sarpong, E. (2002). An analytical study of the labor market for TVET graduates in Ghana. World Bank, Ghana.
Chitema, D. D. (2021). Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Botswana: Implications for graduate employability. The Education Systems of Africa, 371-389.
Dadzie, F. (2013). Barriers to employability for TVET graduates in Ghana. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 65(2), 147-163. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2013.782098
Dewi, N. R., Listiaji, P., Taufiq, M., Savitri, E. N., Yanitama, A. & Herianti, A. P. (2021). Development of a tracer study system for graduates of the Integrated Science Department, Universitas Negeri Semarang. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1918(4), Article 042010. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1918/4/042010
George M. & Michener R. D. (1976). An Introduction to Sampling. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
Kritzinger, A., Bowmaker-Falconer, A., & Du Plessis, T. (2008). Tracer studies in higher education: A case study from South Africa. South African Journal of Higher Education, 22(3), 601-617.
Mathur, A., Sharan, M., Chakraborty, S. & Mullick, S. (2022). Technical and vocational education and training: Examining changing conditions in India. Environmental Sciences Proceedings, 15(1), 31.
Mensah, E., & Agyeman, B. (2017). Tracer study of Kumasi Technical University graduates: Challenges and opportunities. Technical Education Journal, 9(1), 12-24.
Ngware, M. W., Ochieng’, V., Kiroro, F., Hungi, N. & Muchira, J. M. (2024). Assessing the acquisition of whole youth development skills among students in TVET institutions in Kenya. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 76(1), 197-222.
Nsiah-Gyabaah, K. (2009). The missing ingredients in TVET in Ghana. International Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 16(1), 34-45.
Rojas, T. T. & Rojas, R. C. (2016). College of Education Graduate Tracer Study (GTS): Boon or bane? European Scientific Journal, 12(16).
Sagarino, E. V., Moreno, E. A., Juan, T. J. E., Langomez Jr, R. F., Tagiobon, R. I. M., Palmes, M. K. L. & Cabigas, R. A. B. (2017). A tracer study on the University of the Immaculate Conception graduates of bachelor of music. Journal of Advanced Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 2(5), 298-310.
Tran, L. H. N. (2018). Game of blames: Higher education stakeholders’ perceptions of causes of Vietnamese graduates’ skills gap. International Journal of Educati
Yorke, M. (2006). Employability in higher education: What it is and what it is not. Higher Education Academy, York.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2024 AFRICAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
By submitting and publishing your articles in the African Journal of Applied Research, you agree to transfer the copyright of the Article from the authors to the Journal ( African Journal of Applied Research).
