Vocational Training Centres in Bomet County: Enrolment & Staffing Report 2026

Bomet County’s 33 Vocational Training Centres train 4,805 young people — almost exactly half of them women — but most of the people who teach them are not employed by the County. This report publishes the Term 3, 2026 enrolment and staffing census of every VTC in the county, so trainees, parents, trainers, employers and policymakers can see the same numbers that inform county decisions.

Data: Directorate of Vocational Training, County Government of Bomet — returns from the Principals of all 33 VTCs, as on record on 1 October 2026. Compiled and analysed by Alphonce Kirui. No personal information is published.

Key findings

• Enrolment is large and gender-balanced overall: 4,805 trainees, 2,283 women (47.5%) and 2,522 men (52.5%).
• Trade choice is sharply divided by gender. Women are 1% of Masonry and Carpentry trainees, 6% of Motor Vehicle Mechanics and 0% of Welding; men are 1% of Hairdressing trainees.
• Three trades dominate: Masonry/Building Technology, Hairdressing & Beauty Therapy and Tailoring & Dressmaking make up 60% of core-trade enrolment. Higher-value trades are tiny: Motor Vehicle Electronics has 10 trainees, Panel Beating 16.
• Teaching depends on staff the County does not employ. Only 76 of 248 teaching staff (31%) are County (PnP) employees, and 45 of those are Principals and Deputies — leaving 31 County-employed full-time instructors for the whole county.
• Only 1 of 33 VTCs meets the adopted 1:15–1:20 standard on County teaching staff. Closing the gap needs about 182 PnP teaching posts at 1:20, or 261 at 1:15.
• Most staff are qualified: 77% (206 of 269) hold the Craft Certificate minimum or higher; the 22% below it are all Board or contract staff, many of them experienced trainers suited to recognition of prior learning (RPL).
• Intake is falling at 13 VTCs, where this year’s first-year class is smaller than the second-year class.
• Only 37 trainees with special needs are enrolled (0.8%), at 16 VTCs — well below the national disability prevalence of about 2.2% (2019 Census).

Enrolment by trade

Core trades only. ICT (224 trainees) and Agribusiness (28) are common courses taken alongside a core trade and are counted separately.

Counted by trade, trainees total 4,814 — 9 more than the 4,805 counted by year of study, because some VTC returns do not yet add up exactly (see Method below). “Staff teaching it” counts each staff member once for each trade they teach, across all VTCs.

What the gender divide means

Behind an overall balance, young women are concentrated in hairdressing, tailoring and fashion, and almost absent from construction, mechanics, electrical and welding — the trades that usually lead to better-paid work. Young men are almost absent from beauty and garment trades. Targeted outreach, role models and female instructors in technical trades are the obvious levers.

Who teaches: staffing

The 33 VTCs have 269 staff: 194 instructors, 33 Principals or Acting Principals (one per VTC), 21 Deputy Principals and 21 support staff. Principals and Deputies also teach, giving 248 teaching staff.

Board of Governors (BOG) staff are paid from each VTC’s own fee and capitation income, so pay tends to be low and irregular. In 20 of the 33 VTCs, every full-time instructor is BOG or contract staff. Of 28 Principals who commented, 14 asked for staff to be absorbed on County terms.

Qualifications

The Craft Certificate is the minimum qualification for a VTC instructor.

The staffing gap

The County has adopted a standard of one instructor per 15 to 20 trainees, measured on County (PnP) teaching staff. Today there are 63 trainees per County teacher (19.4 per teacher if Board and contract staff are counted). Reaching the standard needs about 182 PnP teaching posts at 1:20, or 261 at 1:15. Because 34 serving Board instructors already hold a Diploma or higher, absorbing qualified serving staff could fill many of these posts without adding new people.

Other gaps: 12 VTCs have no Deputy Principal, and at 16 points 384 trainees are enrolled in a trade with no instructor for it on record at their VTC.

Enrolment by VTC

11 VTCs have fewer than 100 trainees. Boarding VTCs are on average about twice the size of day-only VTCs (218 vs 109 trainees).

What this means for you

• Young people and parents: technical trades are open to women and men alike, and the gender gaps above are an opportunity. See how to choose a trade at a VTC and how RPL can certify skills you already have.
• Trainers and candidates: the CDACC Hub has free trade samples, a revision plan and study guides.
• Employers and partners: attachment places in construction, mechanics and electrical trades — especially for women — would make a real difference.
• Institutions and counties: I help VTCs and counties set up the same census, dashboards and briefs used here. Work with me.

Method

Each Principal submitted an enrolment return (by year of study and by trade, by gender) and a staffing roster through online forms in September 2026, and corrected them between 24 September and 1 October 2026. Each staff member is counted once and each VTC has one head. On 1 October, 21 VTCs’ returns matched by year and by trade, 2 matched in total but not by gender, and 10 still differed; county figures by year (4,805) are used for headline enrolment. Computer Operator and ICT Operator were added to the form on 25 September, so their numbers are likely understated. Names, ID numbers and other personal details collected for administration are not published.

Cite as: Kirui, A. (2026). Vocational Training Centres in Bomet County: Enrolment and Staffing, Term 3 2026. alphoncekirui.com.

Published in a personal capacity with the data owner’s permission. Interpretation is the author’s.