The people of Puntland have been playing an important and visibly unique role in that metamorphosis of craftsmanship history, which finally fledged into TVET, particularly the inception of its administration, although this is somewhat neglected and not given its deserved prominence. Those artisans, craftsmen, and women who produced some valuable native products are today marginalized throughout Somalia. Puntland is no different in that regard. It is obvious that they are called Somali "skilled-men", who at least could manage their daily lives and improve their living standards, disparaging remarks like "Tumaal" (Craftsman) (Lewis, 1994; Cassanelli, 1995). Consequently, the social exclusion of skilled craftsmanship consigned the TVET sub-sector to the fringes of the education sector. As a result, over the years, all over Somalia, technical education, which is a significant factor of human resource development with great potential for adding value to products and services, contributing both to the national economy and the quality of life of the Somali people, has been either lacking or neglected altogether in post conflict Somalia (UNDP, 1981). Against all odds, the skills market in Puntland has huge potential to enhance private sector progress. The skills in high demand include: electrical skills, tailoring/dressmaking, plumbing and sanitation, masonry, metal work, shoe making, fabric design, secretarial skills, management and information communication technology (ICT) (Rieckmann, 2018). 

As for the current education settings, Somalia has one of the world’s lowest enrollment rates, with only 30% of children registered in lower and upper primary education and even fewer (26%) enrolled in secondary education (MOE&HE, 2020). Access to education, including improvement of adult literacy and access to life skills as well as continuing education for adults and the youth, in Puntland State is still limited, with only 38% receiving schooling, leaving the majority without access to even basic education (MOE&HE, 2020). Girls are at risk of gender-based (sexual?) violence and the limitations of arranged and early marriage (Hujale, 2020). Boys are often enrolled willy-nilly in child labour. There is still a gender disparity in enrollment and completion rates between boys and girls, with only 57% gross enrollment rates (GER) for girls as compared to 70% for boys in Puntland (MOE&HE, 2020).

The technical and vocational education and training enrollment in 2014 was 3637 of which had been 66% female students and 34% male students. Since then, the subsequent enrollment of the TVET programs had been falling year on year, until in the 2018/2019 session, the total was only mere 1995. This situational analysis reveals the fact that the TVET program has recently been less attractive to potential students. According to the Ministry of Education of Puntland, the original cause of the falling numbers in the program was not explained. Based on the data by the MOE&HE (2016), there are 31 vocational training centers in Puntland. There are a total of 209 instructors teaching these vocational training courses (VTCs), with 65% being male and 35% being female. Another issue worth noting is that 68% of the VTCs in Puntland are privately owned institutions, whereas 32% are government-owned ones. It is quite clear that privately retained institutions dominated the government-maintained VTCs centers by a factor of two.

As stated in the data of MOE&HE (2016), in Appendix Tables 1 to 2, abridged ten VTC are registered in the Nugal region. These ten governmental and privately owned TVET institutions have 52 instructors, of which the majorities are male. In contrast, in the Mudug region only five VTCs were documented, with a total of 25 mentors among these five vocational training centers, where female staff were in the majority. Based on data from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the public and private TVET institutions in the Bari region number is five: one public vocational training center and four private ones. These five institutions have a total of 40 instructors with roughly equal numbers of male and female trainers. In the Haylan and Sanaag regions of Puntland, there are four privately owned vocational training centers (VTCs).  There are a total of 32 instructors across those four VTCs, with males making up the majority with a 5% margin. The government and privately maintained TVET institutions in the Karkaar region of Puntland have a total of five VTCs with 33 instructors, of which 67% of the teachers characterized as male instructors, and the rest (33%) are female teachers. In the Sool region, only two VTCs have been registered. Altogether, 23 instructors teach in these centers, of whom 69.5% are male, while 30.5% are female.  

Objectives

The main objective of this survey is to provide essential information regarding opportunities and challenges facing the TVET education system in Puntland, currently the Cinderella of the educational system in the province. The study modernizes and harmonizes TVET in order to transform it into a mainstream endeavor for Puntland’s youth development, leading to employment and thus enhancing economic development. An additional aim must be to provide guidance to young people so that they can become fully effective in their careers. Also, it highlights the need for the Puntland government to give TVET a higher priority. In order to make the sector attractive to students, and so create a pool of skilled technicians of both sexes, essential to running a society in the 21st century.

The scope of the study covers three main areas: (1) to summarize the existing contexts  of matters on TVET in Puntland in order to indicate the indispensable evidence  for the donors and the researchers; (2) to notify the government and policymakers of  Puntland on the greatest performance related to the impact assessment of the TVET in terms of the final labour market outcomes of its participants as well as on finest practices regarding efficient design of school-choice matching mechanisms; (3) to discuss choices in formulating and designing TVET impact evaluation specifically in Puntland and Somalia at large.

Challenges of the TVET

The current TVET curriculum is not producing graduates who have the essential knowledge, skills and attitudes for entry into the workplace. In order to make the curriculum  more responsive to the labour market and target resources according to skill priorities, it is important to understand which services are in high demand and which ones are not. Moreover, it is not just significant to identify immediate skill needs, but to be more strategic and think about future skill needs and how to identify them. This will help ensure that policies and strategies for TVET anticipate and support change (MoEHE, 2016-2020). By and large, educational achievement and cognizance level are restricted or limited in Somalia. The 2014 labour force survey (LFS) indicated that 1% of the labour force had attained vocational training.  36%  of  males  and  30%  of females have successfully accomplished secondary education, whereas 21% of males and 9% of females have a first degree at university (NEP, 2017). The UNFPA survey demonstrated the fact that higher education is associated with higher unemployment. Unemployment rates by level of education ranged from 12% for those who have no formal education, 16% for those with primary education, 18% for those with secondary education, and 19% for those with tertiary education. These numbers are clearly suggestive of the need for a wide-ranging effort to boost educational attainment, including vocational education and training (NEP, 2019).    

Vocational and technical education in Puntland is currently a minor, neglected educational sub-sector. The term "technical education" refers to post-secondary courses of study and practical training aimed at the preparation of technicians to work as supervisory staff. Although these types of post-secondary TVET courses are not available in Puntland, they refer to lower-level tutoring and training for the preparation of a skilled or semi-skilled workforce in various trades.

In TVET today, there is very little research that has been done on the relationship between skills development and culture. Thus, the question that arises is, ‘how do we go about developing systems that fit into the country’s culture, values, traditions, and social interaction as well as its particular level of development?'? As industry responds to what people value, such as products, TVET needs to appeal to those who cannot make it to the regular education system. Thus, there is not much research done by academics into the country’s unique culture and traditions, including values, work habits, relationships among the various sectors of society, and other forms of social traditions and interactions that are still very much adhered to by the majority of the population. 

The government of Puntland's budget offers little support for TVET education. To get some perspective, the international community's contribution is indicated only for the year 2014 (Table 2).

The Puntland government spends 48% of its budget on primary education (Grade 1-8 and ABE), 21% is allocated to secondary schooling; while 20% is assigned to educational management and administration. The rest of the budget did not encompass substantial percentages of activity on TVET (ESSP, 2016). The allocation of 1% of the actual government education budget to the TVET subsector confirms suspicions that career and technical education is not a governmental priority. This distorts or damages the students’ opportunities and orientation into the world of work. To get some perspective on Puntland administrations’ expenditure on the education sector, the 2015 budget breakdown is demonstrated in Appendix Table 3.

Currently, in Puntland, there is no accepted vision for the future of skills development in TVET around which the government, employers, and workers could unite. In the near future, an increasing number of young people will enter the labor force, necessitating a review of the scope and efficiency of technical education and training. This includes consideration of which ministry should be in charge of developing new and expanded provisions as well as the rate of improvement of publicly-funded TVET. Therefore, it is necessary to urgently adopt the National Skills Strategy for technical education and career development in Puntland. Finally, there are persistent concerns about the quality of technical education and training, which, to underline this, is strictly demand-led in meeting the needs of our economy. The general public believes that vocational education is only appropriate for those who are academically underprivileged. In many other states, including Puntland, graduates of the vocational education stream find it difficult, if not impossible, to proceed to higher education. There is a need to make TVET more attractive and less of an inferior sector. Certain vocational training programs, such as carpentry, masonry, and welding are stereotypically mostly male dominated, whereas dressmaking and tie-dyeing textiles are associated with women and girls who are less gifted academically and have inadequate technical expertise to drive the TVET system in Puntland.

In many countries, the Ministry of Education principally controls the public TVET institutions, schools, and centers, leaving little room for innovation on the part of the institutions (African Union, 2007). There is a need to increase the operational autonomy of public training providers through decentralization and the devolution of management powers to the institutions. Operational autonomy can be balanced by output-based funding mechanisms that link government funding to institutional performance in the areas of success rates, innovation, and employability of trainees; otherwise, TVET will never get trained and skilled teachers (African Union, 2007).  

Because of its negative image, vocational education and training have become isolated from the rest of the country's educational systems. The TVET programs have separate institutions and teachers. This situation tends to reinforce the perception of inferiority of the vocational pathway as a route to a successful career. Therefore, it is important to create a modality that links vocational education to the other sectors of education such as secondary and tertiary education. 

Lack of harmonized TVET curriculum

TVET system does not have a unified, harmonized, and standardized curriculum. It is a project-based program. Five ministries of Puntland's government, as aforesaid, are directly involved in TVET activities, without proper unification of course content. According to the MOE & HE, the TVET subsector encompasses seven programs with different levels, such as animal production, auto mechanic, carpentry, construction joinery, electronics, mental fabrication, and plumbing. Some TVET courses omit important areas of skill development and fail to follow technical developments. The TVET subsector faces several other challenges within the system, such as a lack of TVET monitoring and performance evaluation, and inadequate instructional materials and equipment. Those constraints, and many others, undermine the effectiveness of the sector. Moreover, the VTCs have inadequate management systems. This has weakened their effectiveness and relevance to the reality of the workplace or demand of the market. Another substantial challenge is the lack of transfer across streams in the education system.

Opportunities of the TVET

TVET can be designed to contribute to occupational competence through the proper teaching of appropriate skills and training in the development and application of indigenous or local technology. It also must reflect the basic occupational needs of its beneficiaries. Possibilities for individual, community, and national development include: developing learner confidence and potential through appropriate programs; developing self-sufficiency and independence through real-world expressions and skills; ensuring appropriate learning enhancements for students to identify their vital roles and responsibilities within Puntland; and ensuring vocational training centers are well equipped with the basic skills and knowledge in preparation for the workforce. Developing inclusive programs in which learners will attain the proper skills that lead to the social and economic development of the nation; ensuring practical programs for students to respond constructively to community expectations, cultural imperatives, economic conditions, and national goals.

Problem statement

Puntland has a severe shortage of TVET-trained workers equipped with basic craft and industrial skills to serve society. The impact of the 1991 Somali civil war resulted in a substantial loss of vocationally skilled and trained manpower. That specifically hindered the Puntland government's ability to reach its vision 2024 targets. Furthermore, the Puntland Education Policy Paper, the Puntland Education Act, Revised (2012), Puntland Higher Education Bill (2016), and the Puntland Five-Year Development Plan3 by MoPDEPIC (2019) as well as the Puntland Second Youth Policy Development (MoLYS, 2017) do not clearly indicate the government’s commitment to enhance and improve the TVET sector. For that reason, Puntland is still in dire need of a TVET-trained workforce and, as aforesaid, skilled technicians to meet the demands of the market and reality of the workplaces. Even in those occupational fields that indicate a great demand for a trained labor force, TVET graduates remain unemployed due to a lack of incorporating employability skills into the curriculum of TVET institutions (Oresanya et al., 2014). The insufficiency of the government’s commitment and well-articulated policy that could guide the development and management of TVET education exacerbated the issues in Puntland. In addition, there is an acute shortage of qualified instructors while there is no harmonized and  standard curriculum. It is clear that demand far outstrips current supply, and that TVET does not reach the majority of young people. Many thousands of young people each year leave schools and universities without having acquired employability skills (Idris and Rajuddin, 2012).

Purposive sampling, in which components, elements, items, or respondents' qualities are contingent on the researcher's judgment and intuition, was used to select respondents for the study (Kanyonga et al., 2019; Adam and Kamuzora, 2008). A comprehensive planned interview schedule in which all candidates/key informants (30) answered 10 predefined questions in the same order and assessed using a standardized scoring system in a face-to-face setting. Candidates/Key informants with a variety of demographic characteristics were gathered to be interviewed, including age, gender disparity, education level, distinctive institutions, and competence in the TVET subsector. Among them were representatives from higher education institutions/universities, TVET societies, and a number of government agencies, including the Puntland Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor, Youth, and Sports, and Ministry of Justice. The interviewees' response factors, such as frequencies (n) and proportions (percent), were analyzed and cataloged in a descriptive manner, and the results were reported (Tables 3 to 5) (Dolores and Tongco, 2007). Previous studies on TVET education in Somalia in general and Puntland in particular have also been given priority. Finally, the frequency (n) and proportion (%) of the key informants' demographic data (Table 4) were supplied in scoring method (1, 2, and 3) of the interviewee's response (Table 5).      

As far as demographic data and the respective qualifications of the respondents are concerned (Appendix Table 5), of the total number of 30 key informants who participated in the survey, 90% were male. As for their respective qualifications, 70% held master's degrees, 13.3% had bachelor’s degrees, 10% were PhDs, and 3.3% had varying post-secondary certificates. The age of the respondents ranged between 21 and 70 years old.

Interviewee’s responses

As aforementioned, after 30 key informants were retained in the survey, the majority of respondents in the study population were predominantly university-educated males. Appendix Table 6 shows how interviewees responded to the questions. The scoring is in a predetermined manner in which the three choices given to the respondents are sequentially categorized into 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

1) 70% of the key informants responded that there is a lack of funding, a chronic shortage of qualified instructors and also a wrong perception, mainly based on gender balance, that TVET programs are seen as being largely male-oriented and, at the same time, inferior to the other available secondary and higher education programs. Whereas, 20% replied that there is a severe lack of educational facilities and equipment for the sector and 10% said government policy and commitment toward the sub-sector is missing.

2) When asked about their expertise on the funding of TVET by the Puntland government, 83% of the participants underscored that the sub-sector has not been allocated, since its inception, any funding by the government. 13% of them responded that the Puntland government assigned only 1% of the yearly actual budget of the Ministry of Education, whereas 3% demonstrated that 15% of that annual actual budget of the Ministry of Education is allotted for the sector.

3) 77% of key informants stated that a lack of government prioritization and commitment is the reason TVET education has not received funding. Whereas 23% of the respondents reasoned that "public-private partnership" is absolutely absent.

4) 93% of the key informants underlined and demonstrated the presence of the administrative challenges that sector faces, while 7% of the interviewees opposed the existence of the challenges. 

5) When asked about the overlap of five ministries involved in TVET education terms of references hindered the sectors' ability to get properly established and thrive

in Puntland state, 73% of the respondents agreed, 17% strongly disagreed, and 10% of the participants were neutral. 

6) A majority of the participants considered that there is a cultural challenge that TVET education faces, and 90% of the interviewees said cultural taboos such as disparaging remarks about TVET education (Tumaal) or craftsmen equated with the technical and vocational education and training sector are a main hindrance to the sector. 10% rejected the existence of cultural limitations.

7) 57% of the participants argued that cultural taboos that hinder the development of TVET education could be reduced by massive public awareness. 43% responded that the government’s commitment and priority to the TVET sector is the greatest factor that can bring sustainable solutions to the sector.

8) 57% of the participants strongly agreed that TVET education depends on the international agencies' contributed expenditures, while 17% strongly disagreed. Another 27% of the respondents neither disagreed nor agreed and remained neutral on the matter.   

9) 67% of the key informants agreed that the TVET curriculum is not harmonized and standardized. 30% of the respondents indicated the curriculum is synchronized. 3% underlined ‘none’ of these.

10) After exposing the TVET curriculum to the participants of the survey for them to highlight the relevance of the sub-sector’s curriculum based on the sought skills for the market demand, 82% of the respondents agreed that the curriculum was not relevant, 11% of them disagreed, and 7% of the participants neither agreed nor disagreed.

The study reveals that there are numerous problems in the TVET education industry, with cultural limits and a lack of government commitments being the most significant impediments to the sector's growth. In the Puntland State of Somalia, the general TVET system is currently on the decrease, owing to lower productivity and rising unemployment rates, which are mostly due to a skills deficit. According to data from the MoE&HE (2017), Puntland has 31 vocational training centers, with 67.7% being privately held and 32.3% being government-operated, and a total of 209 instructors (64.6% are male while 35.4% are female). In this regard, the lack of qualified teachers and limited teaching materials are major issues. 

As stated in the data of MoE&HE (2017), abridged in (Appendix Table 1 and 5), VTC is registered in the Nugal region. These ten VTC institutions have 52 mentors, of whom 77% are male, whereas 23% are female. The findings show a deficiency of teachers as some centers are struggling with only one teacher, while others have unsustainably settled for two or three instructors. Another aspect worth noting is that the data depicts gender disparity ratios of the teachers at the VTC in the Nugal region and the TVET education sub sector in general.

Furthermore, in the Mudug region, only five (5) VTCs were documented. As in Appendix Table 2, a total of 25 mentors among these 5 vocational training centers shows a chronic shortage of instructors, although, unlike in the Nugal region, the gender disparity ratio of the teachers is not that wide in Mudug VTC centers: 60% of the instructors are female, whilst 40% of them are male. However, in the Bari region, which is the largest province in Puntland that hosts a population of over one million in the commercial hub of Bosaso city, it is quite unreasonable to have only five VTCs Appendix Table 3. In Karkaar province of Puntland, there are five VTCs that recapitulate the government and privately maintained VTC institutions Appendix Table 4. On this site, 33 instructors teach in these VTCs, 66.7% of the instructors are characterized as male instructors. On the other hand, 33.3% are female teachers. In the Haylan and Sanaag regions of Puntland, only four (4) privately owned VTCs have been registered Appendix Table 5. There are a total of 32 instructors in those 4 VTCs, of which 68.75% are male, whereas 31.25% are female. As a matter of fact, two huge and important provinces, such as Haylan and Sanaag, agreed to settle for only four privately-owned VTCs   and  no  absolutely  public  ones.  This triggers a concern.

Despite the fact that Sool has experienced political tensions between Puntland and Somaliland, it is nonsensical and inappropriate for the region to have only two privately run VTCs Appendix Table 6. Another noticeable issue is the fact that Sool is a single region with only two VTCs. In total, 23 instructors work in the centers, with 69.5% of them being male teachers and 30.5% being female mentors. Only 23 teachers are clearly insufficient for the TVET centers in the Sool region, and the severe scenario of a persistent instructor shortage is critical to the sector's overall development. As a result, there is a lack of prioritization on the part of the Puntland administration in this area.

Out of the 30 key informants retained in the survey. A majority of respondents had attained a university level of education and were predominantly male. The research has designated the different stakeholders, including members from higher educational institutions, civil society organizations, and the public and private sector, to get primary information about the TVET challenges. Most of the respondents underlined that the TVET is lacking funding, exacerbated by a notable deficiency of qualified instructors, while the public’s awareness is largely poor. About 83.3% of the key informants highlighted that TVET was not allocated any budget and that this non-sustainable financing mechanisms in TVET demonstrates that the sector is not in the government’s priority. That, at the very least, hinders investments by the private sector and foreign donors. One of the main factors for TVET to reach the critical threshold in Puntland, according to the respondents, is cultural challenge. Around 93% of the key informants accentuated that there is severe administration overlap among various directly involved, in one way or the other, in TVET education due to the overlap in their respective mandates. The relevant ministries believe that in order for the TVET education docket to be included in their terms of reference, they must gain access to international donor financing for the sector. The TVET soup is being spoiled by too many cooks. Another major finding of the survey participants is that most university graduates remain unemployed due to a lack of automation (not sure what automation means) for available occupations. In general, higher education institutions generated unskilled graduates, which harmed both the graduates' future prospects and the country's output level. According to the study, TVET education lacks a consistent and harmonized curriculum, as well as ambiguous responsibilities for the private and public sectors due to the lack of a uniform curriculum.

Most key informants highlighted in major colours that there is a lack of funding; the government has not allocated funding  to  the sub-sector; tuition fees on TVET funding should be taken seriously; the overlap of ministries involved in TVET education terms of reference hampered the sector's ability to get properly established and thrive in Puntland State; and dissatisfaction with the sector's dependency on the international community. Thus, if the value of TVET is to be felt in the public and commercial sectors, political stability, transparency, sound economic policies, and reasonable wealth transfer should all be attained (Wahba, 2011). One of the most distinguishing characteristics of TVET is that the curriculum's concentration on the acquisition of applicable skills agrees with the African Union's (AU) goal for the development of the continent's human resources. It recognizes the value of TVET as a means of empowering individuals and believes that it should be cus -made to meet the demands of the community (African Union, 2007; Tom and Norton, 2021). 

The document strongly advocates for equitable access to TVET in order to educate young people from all walks of life with the skills they need to help the country's economy recover and grow, and subsequently assist their families and communities. The report strongly recommends that a state-level TVET conference be convened in order to better engage all stakeholders and improve the quality and relevance of TVET. For the conference to be a success, several political, economic, and social changes found throughout the research study must be carefully examined. Partnership with the private sector by giving them a meaningful role in the sector's development, management, and evaluation; policy changes such as integrating TVET into the government's fiscal policy; development of effective and upgraded uniform TVET curricula; bringing in modern technologies in the institutions; adequately experienced TVET trainers; and close ties with already established international donor communities (Chamadia and Shahid, 2018; Wahba, 2011).

The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.