The DEVISE4KE project addresses the challenge of aligning vocational education and training (VET) with changing occupational requirements in the context of digital transformation and the competence-based curriculum (CBC) in Kenya. In many VET systems, learning and teaching practices are insufficiently connected to real work processes, as teachers often lack structured support to translate occupational requirements into competence-oriented learning designs. Also, teachers themselves often lack the necessary digital competences.

The disconnection between educational practice and workplace requirements is especially pronounced in resource-constrained contexts, such as Homa Bay County in Western Kenya, where schools are confronted with numerous interrelated challenges. These include infrastructure deficits such as inadequate ICT equipment and unreliable energy supply, insufficient teacher training in both competency-based pedagogical approaches and digital teaching methodologies, and a fundamental lack of work-based learning opportunities due to limited industry partnerships and geographical isolation from major economic centres. Moreover, the implementation of Kenya's Competency-Based Curriculum since 2017—which emphasises learner-centred approaches, competency development, formative assessment, and 21st-century skills—has created additional demands on teachers who were not systematically prepared for this pedagogical shift. The regional context is characterised by significant educational disadvantages stemming from poverty, which renders traditional internships and company collaborations largely unfeasible for students. This necessitates the development of innovative approaches to facilitate the incorporation of authentic work experiences into the classroom setting.

This contribution focuses on the project’s Work Package 2 (WP2) and Work Package 4 (WP4). WP2 identified and structured occupational requirements and work tasks in selected occupational fields as a basis for competence-oriented VET. WP4 built on these results to enable VET teachers to design their own learning and work tasks using a digital Task Manager, aligned with the occupational requirements identified in WP2.
The guiding research question is:

How can VET teachers design competence-oriented learning and work tasks based on empirically-identified occupational requirements?

The objectives of this contribution are to:

1. describe how occupational requirements and work tasks were analysed and structured in WP2;
2. explain how these results were transferred into a digital Task Manager in WP4; and
3. Analyse how teachers’ task design practices developed through supported task development processes.

The conceptual framework is grounded in competence-based and work process–oriented VET, emphasizing authentic work tasks as a core didactic element that links work and learning. Teachers are understood as key actors in curriculum enactment and task design. The project follows a design-based research perspective, combining the development of digital tools with iterative reflection on pedagogical practices.

Theoretically, the project draws on the Learning and Work Tasks (LWT) methodology developed by Howe and Knutzen (2021), which provides a structured approach to designing work-process-oriented learning activities. This methodology organizes learning through four distinct phases—Acceptance, Planning, Execution, and Termination—mirroring authentic occupational work processes while systematically addressing professional, methodological, social, and personal competences. The LWT approach explicitly tackles both professional competences specific to occupational fields and transversal competences that are transferable across contexts, including collaborative problem-solving, learning to learn, adaptability, and initiative-taking. Additionally, the project employs the DigiComp 2.2 framework (Vuorikari et al., 2022) to structure and assess digital competence development across five key dimensions: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem-solving. This dual theoretical foundation enables systematic integration of work-based learning principles with comprehensive digital competence development, addressing the specific needs identified in the Kenyan VET context.

The European and international dimension is central to the project. European approaches to occupational analysis, competence orientation and work-based learning task design were transferred and adapted to the Kenyan VET context through international cooperation and joint development activities.

In WP2, occupational requirements were analysed using qualitative methods such as expert interviews, workplace-related discussions, and document and structured task analyses in selected occupational fields. WP2 focused on identifying typical work tasks, required competences and performance expectations. The results were systematized and structured as the foundation for competence-oriented learning task design. The initiation phase involved comprehensive industry needs assessment through ten structured interviews with regional companies representing diverse sectors including manufacturing, trade, tourism, banking, and telecommunications in Homa Bay County. These interviews employed semi-structured protocols designed to elicit detailed information about specific work tasks, competence requirements, performance standards, and collaboration expectations for entry-level employees. Concurrently, digital competency assessments were conducted at three secondary schools involving 23 teachers and 247 students, utilizing instruments aligned with the DigiComp framework to establish baseline competence levels and identify specific development needs. Data was analysed via Kuckartz´s qualitative data analysis (Kuckartz 2018). WP4 implemented the WP2 results in a digital Task Manager to support teachers in creating learning and work tasks. Teachers participated in workshops and guided development phases learning how to use the Task Manager to choose work areas, relate them to competence elements, formulate the requisite learning and work tasks, and define learning objectives and assessment criteria. The design-based research approach employed in WP4 involved two parallel iterative research cycles. The first cycle focused on developing a foundational LWT on photovoltaic system installation, created by university partners specifically for teacher training purposes. This LWT underwent initial testing at Rongo University with participating teachers, whose feedback informed refinements before subsequent implementation and evaluation at the three partner secondary schools. The second cycle involved teachers themselves designing LWTs for their students on topics identified through the industry needs assessment and digital competency evaluation, such as job application processes, customer service interactions, and agricultural field preparation. The data used for WP4 included task descriptions created by teachers, workshop materials, documentation of task development processes, and reflective feedback from teachers and project partners. The analysis focused on the alignment between occupational requirements and learning tasks, including changes in teachers’ task design practices over time.

The results indicate that teachers were able to develop more structured and competence-oriented learning and work tasks when supported by clearly defined occupational requirements and a digital Task Manager. The Task Manager helped teachers to explicitly relate learning tasks to real work processes and competence requirements, thereby strengthening the work-based orientation of teaching and learning. Industry assessments revealed substantial competency misalignments between employer expectations and teacher capabilities. Critical gaps emerged in collaborative problem-solving (80% industry importance vs. 25% teacher competency), learning to learn (80% vs. 20%), and digital content creation (85% vs. 15%). Following the LWT development cycle and digital workshops, teachers demonstrated measurable improvements: learning to learn increased from 20% to 50%, information and data literacy from 40% to 60%, and communication and collaboration from 35% to 50%. Pedagogical competences showed parallel advancement, with work-based learning planning and digital task design improving from level 4 (hardly able) to level 2 (can do this) on four-point Likert scales. These quantitative gains were validated through qualitative feedback indicating enhanced confidence, deeper understanding of competence-based pedagogy, and practical application capabilities. The findings underline the importance of linking occupational analysis with teacher capacity building. From an international perspective, the project demonstrates how European concepts of work process–oriented and competence-based VET can be adapted to different national contexts through collaborative development, while contributing to sustainable capacity building in vocational education systems. The research identified critical infrastructure dependencies: digital LWTs' effectiveness requires reliable electricity and internet connectivity, which remain inconsistent in resource-constrained environments. Nevertheless, when foundational conditions exist, digital learning and work tasks provide pedagogically work-based learning integration where traditional apprenticeships are infeasible. Future research will examine competence improvement sustainability, investigate classroom implementation effectiveness, and analyse industry-informed LWTs' impact on students' digital, transversal, and professional competence development.

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