A STUDY OF THE UNDERGRADUATE RECORDS MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN KENYA: A CASE OF MOI AND KENYATTA UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

There is a link between the content of Records Management curricula in Kenyan universities and the Records Management labour market in Kenya. Employers’ input and review of the institution’s curriculum typically produce better skilled, more knowledgeable employees who have a greater potential to succeed once they leave universities. This research aimed to identify the relevance of the undergraduate records management curriculum at Kenyatta University and Moi University to the labour market in Kenya as this is the education level that shapes up most professionals’ career paths. The challenge of the high unemployment rate among Kenyans in general as thousands of graduates come out of universities each year also motivated this research. The objectives included identifying the link between the undergraduate records management curriculum and the labour market in Kenya, exploring the evolving changes in the responsibilities of record managers in Kenya, examining the relevance of the records management training at Moi University and Kenyatta University to the labour market in Kenya and making recommendations on the records management curriculum at Moi University and Kenyatta University. The contextual set-up of the study was Kenyan universities and narrowed down to universities offering records management at the undergraduate level and online job listing sites in Kenya. The research employed mixed methods of both quantitative and qualitative methods of research. The target population of the research were graduates of, and current chairpersons of records management departments of Moi University and Kenyatta University. The sample included 66 graduates of records management and 2 heads of records management departments. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Atlas.ti and presented in tables, diagrams and graphs. The research revealed that there is a mismatch between the records management curriculum offered and the market demands. This mismatch was attributed to several factors, the main ones being the theoretical nature of studies as well as the impact of Information Communication Technology in records management. The research further revealed that there is minimal consultation between the Universities and the market in curriculum review and that records management is not as popular in the Kenyan labour market. The study recommended having programs that bring the various stakeholders together, regular curriculum reviews and integration of Information Communication Technology in records management. These findings could be used by local universities, Commission for University Education and employers in charting the way forward regarding records management as a profession