Vocational Skills Training for Sustainable Development : A Case Study of Youth Education Pack Programme in Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee Camps

Abstract: The global rise in the number of refugees in recent decades has raised questions and concerns on continuation of their education. As enshrined in SDG 4, refugees have a right to inclusive and equitable quality education, aimed at enhancing lifelong learning and creation of opportunities. This study analyses vocational education and training in an emergency environment and how it contributes to lifelong development. It embraces the case of Youth Education Pack programme, a skills training programme being implemented in Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya by the Norwegian Refugee Council. The study endeavours to understand the implementation process of the programme and its impact on refugee communities and on development, and the role of aid organizations in the programme and in educational intervention in emergency situations. It embraces a qualitative research strategy and a case study design approach in trying to answer the questions of how. The concepts of refugee, skills training, education in emergencies, and sustainable development are examined and used to provide relevance to the entire study. The theory of change and human capital development theory have been used in this study to ground and guide the research process. The findings of this study show that YEP programme has impacted positively on the livelihoods of refugees in the perspectives of literacy improvement, peace and cohesion, and economic empowerment. However, the programme faces a range of challenges in its implementation whose common denominator is insufficient funding. Keywords Education in emergency, Youth Education Pack, Skills training, sustainable development,