INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT FOR TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION LECTURERS: AN IMPERATIVE FOR EFFECTIVE DELIVERY

Abstract

World over, education stakeholders agree that the industry is the most reliable learning environment to train a competent workforce. The industry provides a context for lecturers and students to transform and construct vocationally, socially and meaningful knowledge and skills. Training providers and industries, through employers, form partnerships to offer situated learning opportunities in the industry so that lecturers and students have access to reliable experiences that only the industry can offer it.Industrial attachments have long been accepted as a core component of training for trainees and are well structured and coordinated. Industrial attachment is also equally important for lecturers and instructors;yet it has not received parallel attention, coherence or coordination at the policy or organisational levels. Thepaperstarts with an overview of training arrangements for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers followed by literatures on the importance of industrial attachment.  The paper also takes a look on changing role of TVET lecturers, challenges for implementing Industrial Attachment for TVET Lecturers. It wasrecommended that industrial attachment should make an integral part of TVET curriculum by making it one of the promotion requirements for the affected lectures.