Samsung electronics opens engineering academy in Nairobi
Cabinet Secretary, Adan Mohamed (C) flanked by Samsung Vice President and COO for east & central Africa Robert Ngeru (L) and Technical University Vice Chancellor Prof Francis Aduol (R) during the launch an air conditioning and refrigeration engineering academy at the Technical University of Kenya on August 13, 2014. PHOTO | BUSINESS DAILY | DIANA NGILA
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The students are taken through trainings on hand-held electronics, refrigeration and air conditioning, consumer electronics and information technology.
Samsung Electronics East Africa has opened an engineering academy at the Technical University of Kenya in efforts to tackle skills shortages among local electronics specialists.
The firm on Wednesday unveiled the facility which will accommodate 60 trainees who will undergo six-month training on refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
Robert Ngeru, Samsung’s vice president for east and central Africa, said the academy is part of the company’s strategy to train 10,000 technical engineers in Africa and address skill-gaps by next year.
“The essence of this programme is to impart practical skills to students who have only learnt theory in class and make them competitive in the job market,” he said. Mr Ngeru added that the skills learnt in the academy would energise young people to chart their own entrepreneurial paths for wealth creation.
Some 200 Kenyan students have graduated since 2012 when the programme started. The electronics giant also has another training academy in Westlands, Nairobi.
Students are drawn from local technical training colleges such as Nairobi’s Multimedia University, Kabete Technical Training Institute, PC Kinyanjui Technical Training Institute and Nairobi Technical Training Institute. They are taken through trainings on hand-held electronics, refrigeration and air conditioning, consumer electronics and information technology.
Samsung noted that a large pool of technicians would help support its growth in the country.
“The number of electronics we are shipping into the country is increasing every day, thus the need for these skills,” Mr Ngeru explained. He added that the specialists would offer consumers a ready hand in fixing broken refrigerators and air-conditioners.
Other multinationals such as Huawei and Toyota have also set up training centres in Nairobi, tapping into universities in training learners. Last month, automaker Toyota opened an academy along Mombasa Road in Nairobi for training youth in mechanics and entrepreneurship.
Industrialisation Secretary Adan Mohamed asked other industry players to form such linkages with learning institutions to correct technical skill-gaps. “The manufacturing sector is critical in elevating Kenya to a middle-income economy by 2030, hence the need to ramp up technical skills,” he said.
This comes as the government plans to set up additional 60 technical training institutions in 47 counties starting November to boost the supply of artisans and technicians into the market. Technical University of Kenya vice-chancellor Francis Aduol expressed optimism that the initiative would help reduce unemployment among graduates. “Unemployment can only be effectively tackled by offering youth skills that match industry needs,” he noted.
