The Influence of Industrial Attachment on Trainees' Completion in Vocational training centres: A Case of Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya

Industrial attachment (IA) is a very important component in most programmes at different levels of training. This study investigated the influence of industrial attachment (IA) on trainees completion in selected vocational training centres (VTCs) in Elgeyo Marakwet County. Vocational training centres were previously referred to Youth Polytechnics in Kenya up to 2013 when the country adopted the new name through an Act of Parliament. This was a further study to a research conducted in 2015 by Kiplagat, Ferej and Kafu which established that industrial attachment was one of the institution-based factors that negatively influenced completion levels of trainees in vocational training centres. Hence, this study was conducted to ascertain the nature of the influence. This study adopted descriptive research design. The present study was conducted in two well-established vocational training centres in Elgeyo Marakwet County. The data was purposively collected from VTC Managers, Deputy Managers and industrial attachment coordinators using semi-structured questionnaires. This target group was purposively selected because of their respective positions that were assumed to give valuable information for this study. Both quantitative and qualitative data presented for analysis. The findings of this study revealed that industrial attachment influenced trainee low completion in vocational training centres because some trainees never went back to VTCs after the end of industrial attachment. During the industrial attachment exercise, some of the trainees got pregnant, married early, employed, or felt that they had acquired adequate skills hence saw no need to go back. These made trainees not to go back to vocational training centres immediately after the end the attachment exercise or even not at all later to complete their studies. This study recommended that vocational training centres and parents should enhance guiding and counseling of trainees, vocational training centres should register trainees for examination before going for the attachment, parents should enhance financial support for their children on attachment, industrial attachment firms should release trainees back to the vocational training centres at the end of the attachment, among others.