FKE seeks to bridge skills gap with internships for students
Federation of Kenya Employers CEO Jacqueline Mugo. FILE
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Dubbed Global Apprenticeship Programme, the deal will see FKE create linkages between learning institutions and both local and foreign companies to offer students internships.
Employers have continually complained that entry-level workers lack workplace skills.
FKE said there was need for an updated record of manpower mix to establish which sectors faced skills shortages.
The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) seeks to bridge the gap between formal education and industry skill needs with a new internship programme for university students.
Dubbed Global Apprenticeship Programme, the deal will see FKE create linkages between learning institutions and both local and foreign companies to offer students internships.
“We are still sharing the idea with our members. We hope the programme will be in place soon,” the FKE chief executive officer Jacqueline Mugo told the Business Daily.
“The internships will package them for future engagements in their professions,” she added.
Employers have continually complained that entry-level workers lack workplace skills.
FKE said creation of new jobs was likely to pick up with increased business activity expected when Kenya starts exploiting recently discovered hydrocarbons.
“This calls for a coordinated training arrangement for graduates to arm them with the right skills,” said Ms Mugo.
At the moment, learning institutions have individual internship arrangements, whose capacity cannot sufficiently handle the large numbers of graduating students. Others work closely with their alumni associations whose members are based in various industries.
FKE said there was need for an updated record of manpower mix to establish which sectors faced skills shortages.
This, Ms Mugo said, would help in designing policy with regard to skills distribution.
In 2011, the Ministry of Labour conducted a nationwide manpower survey but the findings have yet to be released.
The construction sector has in the past experienced shortages in certified masons and plumbers blamed on a shift of focus to university education.
Students are now shunning technical education, distorting the workforce structure where professionals occupy the broad-base of the pyramid instead of artisans and technicians.
FKE is betting big on a two-day conference starting Tuesday in Mombasa to lay the foundation for future engagement with different players in the economy towards collective participation in job creation. The meeting has attracted employers from 18 African nations.
“We want to put our efforts together in addressing the thorny issue of unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Ms Mugo.
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