Antecedents of graduates’ competence in the agro-food processing technical and vocational training system of Ethiopia as perceived by graduates and their trainers

The purpose of this study was to scrutinize the interdependence among training quality, graduate demographic characteristics, and graduate competence and employability in the agro-food processing sub-sector of the TVET system in Ethiopia. To that effect, the commitment and competence of graduates and trainers, the quantitative and qualitative aspects of resource supplies, training and assessment practices including industry involvement or cooperative training, and the relationships with and influence of the human and material resources on graduate competence were examined. The descriptive survey design of the quantitative approach that involved 637 participants was employed. Data analyses through descriptive and inferential statistics revealed that colleges were challenged with trainer skill gaps, poor material resource supply, and poor cooperative training. It was also found that the human inputs (trainer competence, trainer commitment, and trainee characteristics) significantly predicted the core competence of graduates whereas material resources had a very weak predictive power. In addition, an inverse relationship between employment status and all forms of graduates’ competence was found. Accordingly, it is plausible to conclude that poor institutional capacity that denied to pay necessary attention for the input and process of the training delivery has obstructed the competence of graduates.