This paper revisits the scholarly debate about Sustainability Competencences (SCs) concerning graduate employability from a Kenyan Perspective. UN Policy documents state that Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) is instrumental in realising Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SD) by producing competent graduates who become future leaders, thinkers, and decision-makers able to solve complex issues (IAU, 2012). Moreover, sustainability competencies (SCs) are expected to align with transitions to a green economy (GE) contributing to millions of new jobs (UNECE, 2012; ILO, 2022). While 71 million youth were unemployed globally in 2016, in 2023 out of 192 million overall global unemployment (UN, 2023) 13.3% were youth (ILO, 2024).   It is estimated that GE could account for 100  million new jobs by 2030, which requires specific skills and training (ILO, 2022). Although Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is assumed to foster employability values, skills, and practices, necessary for green transitions, only a fraction of this potential is being tapped (Nishimura M. and Rowe, D. 2021; ILO, 2022). Researchers have argued that education ought to work towards achieving a sustainable world and acknowledge that students’ SCs are correlated to their employability competencies (Gora et al., 2019) to create sustainable societies (Stables & Scott, 2002). Therefore, authors have argued for mainstreaming ESD into all university curricula (Rieckmann, 2012; Mochizuki & Fadeeva, 2010). Others, however, have criticised a narrow, instrumental focus on facilitating competence development (Van Poeck & Vandenabeele, 2012; Deleye et al., 2019; Vare, 2022) and the acquisition of SCs for employability (Weinert, 2001) as it disregards transformational and emancipatory aspects of education (Wals 2011, 2015; de Haan, 2006).

We revisit the debate about SCs and employability by discussing the contextual relevance (Vare et al. 2022) of the arguments used and exploring the case of Kenya. While, in the global North, instrumental approaches to education and ESD are often criticised, Mbithi et al. (2021) posit that Africa's needs are unique compared to developed economies and therefore argue for the acquisition of skills that are relevant to the emerging economies while paying attention to SD. This position is confirmed by Lotz-Sisitka and Raven (2009) in the light of post-apartheid South Africa. Also, Kenyan universities see ESD integration as an opportunity to enhance employability aligned with SDG 4 on Quality Education and SDG 8 on Decent Work for graduates (UNESCO, 2016). Kenya’s ESD strategy is guided by three strategic objectives: Enhance the role of education and learning for equitable, efficient, and sustainable utilization of the country’s resources; promote quality education through diverse learning and public awareness for improved quality of life and productive livelihoods; and promote teaching and learning that inculcates appropriate values, behaviours, and lifestyles for good governance and sustainability (Imbuga, 2010). Nyatuka (2020) argues that SCs should be fully integrated into the newly introduced competency-based curriculum (CBC) in Kenya.

It is problematic that scientific literature on sustainability in higher education, including on SCs which can be considered a game changer in the employability of graduates, is dominated by contributions from the global North with less knowledge about the African, Asian, and Latin-American contexts (Adomßent et al., 2013). With this contribution, we aim to respond to the need to conduct more research in underrepresented regions.

We address the following questions: 1. What are the arguments (pro and con) used in the scholarly debate about competencies and employability in ESD? 2. To what extent are these arguments relevant in a Kenyan context? 3. Considering the Kenyan context, which alternative or additional arguments should be considered in the debate about competencies and employability in ESD? In the search for answers, we combine literature review, content analysis of documents, and focus groups. Because of the exploratory character of our research, we conduct a scoping review to map the arguments used in the scholarly literature about competencies and employability in ESD. To find the relevant literature, a databases search is conducted via Web of Science using the following keywords: (‘higher education’ OR ‘universit*’ OR ‘college*’) AND ‘sustainab*’ AND ‘competenc*’ AND ‘employability’ and a subsequent search in ERIC database using the search words 'sustainability competenc and employ' . The search is limited to the title, abstract and keywords of publications in the databases. Subsequently, the resulting collection of publications is screened to exclude irrelevant records. This is done in three steps: by title, by abstract, and by reviewing the articles in full. To be included in the review, the articles need to address the topics of SCs and employability. The analytical lens for reviewing the content of the selected articles is informed by research question 1. We assess whether the authors argue in favour or against a focus on SCs and employability and, if so, which arguments pro and con are formulated. To address research questions 2 and 3, we first conduct a content analysis of documents to grasp the specificity of the Kenyan context in terms of the higher education sector, graduate employability, labour market, employment situation, and green economy. We focus on policy documents and available datasets from national authorities as well as intergovernmental or international actors like the World Bank, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and United Nations bodies. Next, we organise two focus groups: one with ESD researchers who have specialised expertise in SCs and/or employability and/or ESD in African contexts, and a second one with key stakeholders in the Kenyan education and labour sector.

The literature review results in a detailed mapping of the arguments used in the international academic literature on competencies and employability in ESD. The content analysis describes relevant characteristics of higher education, the green economy, and the employment/labour market in Kenya. Both are brought into dialogue with each other. During the focus groups, the international ESD researchers and Kenyan key stakeholders reflect on the scholarly debate about – and deployed arguments pro and con – a focus on SCs and employability. Thus, we investigate to what extent arguments used in the international scholarly debate can be considered valid in the context of the Kenyan situation. Relevant arguments are enriched and specified from a Kenyan perspective, potential biases in the currently available literature are described, and alternative or additional arguments that should be considered in the debate about competencies and employability are indicated. Based on these findings, prospects for future research on the topic are discussed.

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