The German government has pledged €150 million (Sh22.3 billion) in funding to set up 160 technical and vocational education and training (TVET) centres across Kenya in efforts aimed at bridging the widening skills gap.
The revelation was made by Germany's ambassador to Kenya Sebastian Groth, who spoke during a launch of a Virtual Reality training programme for advanced welding organised by innovation hub Toolkit iSkills.
“The country is on a path of developing its manufacturing sector and the only way to do that is to have the technical skills required in spurring industrial growth. We are setting up 160 new TVET centres across Kenya that will be constructed at a tune of €150 million,” said Mr Groth.
“These centres will be fully equipped to train the youth on welding, renewable and e-mobility and they will spread across Western, Coastal and North Eastern parts of the country.”
TTI, which is a social enterprise that focuses on training youth in life, employability and technical skills, introduced VR technology in Kenya and East Africa in 2021 and has since then churned out 33 instructors and assessors and over 100 youth welders.
Speaking during the event, the organisation’s director Jane Muigai underscored the need to skill the country’s youth using digital technologies so as to equip them for survival in the rapidly evolving job market.
Germany’s move will offer the Kenyan government the much-needed boost in its efforts to place TVETs at the centre of its jobs creation agenda.
During the term of the late President Mwai Kibaki, the government converted a number of mid-level colleges into constituent campuses of public universities.
