Dual Training in Kenya: How Trainees Split Time Between College and Company, and What the Agreement Should Say

6 min read

Employers often say TVET graduates “know the theory but have never seen a real workplace.” Dual training answers that complaint head-on. Instead of a short attachment at the end, the trainee spends a large share of the course inside a company, learning on real jobs from the start.

CDACC’s 2025 modular curricula now come with dualized training schedules for a growing list of courses. Here is how dual training works, how the hours are split, and what the agreement between college, company and trainee should cover.

What makes dual training different

In ordinary training, the trainee spends almost all their time in college, then goes on industrial attachment, typically for about three months.

In dual training, every unit has both college hours and company hours. The company is a training partner, not just a host for attachment. Theory and basic skills are taught at college, and the trainee then practises them in the company, under a mentor, on real work.

How the hours are split

The Cycle 3 package includes about 40 dualized schedules, covering courses such as architecture, baking, building technology, civil and highway engineering, electrical, food and beverage service, horticulture, quantity surveying, solar PV installation and telecommunications.

Take Solar PV System Installation. Each unit lists institutional and industry hours side by side:

Level 5 unit (examples)	College hours	Company hours	Total
DC Solar PV Systems Installation	70	80	150
Solar PV Systems Design	52	58	110
Electrical Installation III	60	100	160
Engineering Mathematics I	75	25	100

The pattern is sensible. Practical units lean towards the company, and maths and theory units stay mostly in college. Across the full Level 5 programme, the trainee spends 1,280 hours in college and 950 hours in industry, a total of 2,230 hours.

The schedules are built in blocks: college modules alternate with industry training blocks. Under block release, the industry hours for a module are covered together in an industry block after it.

Planning the hours: what the guidance says

A CDACC planning note on allocating hours sets out the thinking:

• Start from the course’s total hours and the number of blocks, then divide.
• Order units by dependency. In Autobody Technology Level 6, for example, vehicle body design comes before fabrication, because fabrication builds on the design.
• At 30 hours a week, Autobody Technology’s 3,830 notional hours take about 128 weeks, or roughly 11 twelve-week terms.
• In dual training, do not add separate attachment hours, because in-company training is already built in. For Automotive Mechatronics Level 6, the 480 attachment hours come off the 3,680 total, leaving 3,170 hours to plan.
• Plan with the companies. The schedule must be agreed with partner companies, or there won’t be enough training places.

The note also recommends a near 50:50 split between college and company for dual courses.

The training agreement: three parties, clear duties

Dual training needs more than a goodwill letter. The sample Cooperative Vocational Training Agreement in the CDACC files is signed by three parties: the training company, the trainee (and a parent or guardian), and the training institution. The example is for a Mechanical Plant Technician Level 6 class shared between a technical training institute and a tea factory.

The key terms are worth copying:

• Hours: 2,400 hours in total, with 1,200 hours (30 weeks) at the institute and 1,200 hours in the company.
• Not employment: the agreement says plainly that it is not an employment contract. The trainee is a student of the institute throughout.
• The company’s duties: appoint a suitable mentor, follow an approved in-company training plan, give a safety briefing and PPE before work starts, release the trainee for college, and issue a written training certificate.
• The trainee’s duties: carry out assigned tasks, keep a daily task and time record, follow safety rules, keep company information confidential, and report illness with a medical certificate.
• The institution’s duties: deliver the college plan, monitor the trainee’s records, handle registration and assessment, and run a college–industry coordination committee that approves both training plans and tracks progress.
• Exit: completion, one month’s written notice by either side, or immediate termination for serious misconduct.

In that example, trainees who pass can earn both the CDACC Level 6 certificate and a C-Level certificate from the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in East Africa (AHK). A well-designed dual programme can add an industry-recognised certificate on top of the national one.

Who benefits

• Trainees get real work experience from the first term, a mentor, and a stronger CV. The training company already knows their work when it next hires.
• Employers shape the skills of their future staff and can judge a trainee over months, not a single interview.
• Colleges share part of the practical training load with industry, and their graduates arrive with real workplace experience.

What it takes to start

1. Pick one course and one or two committed companies. Solar, electrical, hospitality and agriculture are natural fits in most counties.
2. Use the CDACC dualized schedule for that course as the base for your training plans.
3. Sign a three-way agreement with every trainee, using the sample’s structure: hours, duties, confidentiality, exit.
4. Set up the coordination committee with the companies, and meet each term.
5. Train the mentors. A mentor who understands the training plan and the CDACC mentoring tool makes or breaks the scheme.

The bottom line

Dual training is not a longer attachment. It is a different way to train, with the workplace as a second classroom. CDACC’s dualized schedules already show how to split the hours, and the sample agreement shows how to set the rules. The missing piece in most counties is the company partnership, and that is where VTC managers can start this term.

Key takeaways

• In dual training, every unit has both college hours and company hours.
• CDACC’s Cycle 3 package includes about 40 dualized schedules, from baking to solar PV.
• Solar PV Installation Level 5 splits 1,280 college hours and 950 company hours.
• Planning guidance recommends a near 50:50 split and says separate attachment hours should not be added.
• A three-way agreement (company, trainee, institution) sets hours, duties, confidentiality and exit terms; it is not an employment contract.
• Start small: one course, one or two committed companies, trained mentors and a coordination committee.

Source: TVET CDACC Cycle 3 modularized dualized training schedules; CDACC Dual Training files (sample Cooperative Vocational Training Agreement and guidance on allocation of hours). Also read: What CDACC assessors actually check, including the Mentoring Tool.

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