Vocational education and training in Kuwait: Vocational education versus values and viewpoints

Since the opening up of private universities and colleges in the Kuwait education system in the late 1990s, there has been an explosion of tertiary institutions (both domestic and international) established in the country, with many of them offering vocational education and training. The move towards vocational and educational training forms part of a two-pronged policy approach by the Kuwait government: firstly -to educate and train young Kuwaitis who may not have reached university entrance levels and equip them for meaningful work; and secondly -to encourage a process called Kuwaitisation, to provide opportunities for Kuwaiti nationals to take over work traditionally and currently undertaken by foreign nationals. But despite an urgent need for vocational and technical training, the move towards vocational education has been met with resistance because of cultural values and beliefs that technical and vocational education is socially unacceptable and economically unrewarding. University degrees are valued above all other forms of education and the value of education is viewed in relation to social values, such as enhancing marriageability among females combined with negative views towards work that encompasses service, trades and non-management/business ownership status. This paper discusses the recent development of vocational education in Kuwait and the barriers it faces in a fast-evolving rentier state.