Germany ambassador to Kenya Jutta Frasch. PHOTO | FILE
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The money will be used to equip the training units with state-of-the-art facilities to offer the craftsmen with modern skills to match the needs of the market.
Technical colleges have received a Sh3 billion boost from Germany in the latest attempt to feed the labour market with masons, plumbers and mechanic to ease the growing unemployment burden.
The money will be used to equip the training units with state-of-the-art facilities to offer the craftsmen with modern skills to match the needs of the market.
Kenya has recently being converting mid- tier colleges to universities—which has led to an increase in the number of graduates with degree certificates pursuing white-collar jobs in a market that is already saturated.
The snubbing of technical and vocational training is emerging in a period when Kenya is experiencing skills shortage of specialised craftsmen that has pushed the country to turn to foreigners for jobs like oil pipeline welders.
Germany ambassador to Kenya Jutta Frasch on Tuesday said upgrade of the vocational units holds the key to tackling joblessness in a country where unemployment stands at above 40 per cent.
“This might be seen as small (contribution), but we have to start somewhere,” said Ms Frasch, adding that Kenya should entrench vocational training just like such as like Germany, China and Switzerland.
Vocational training in Germany is famed and said to offer the better route of finding a job on the labour market.
Under the Germany dual vocational training system, students attend classes at a vocational school and receive on-the-job training at a company.
“Kenya has many degree holders, and vocational skills are also needed for transforming the counties,” said United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Siddharth Chatterjee.
The two spoke after the introduction the Youth Sector Working Group (YSWG)—which is expect to shepherd initiatives to ease youth unemployment.
The YSWG has representatives drawn from the national and county governments, private sector, youth organisations, philanthropic society and development partners like the World Bank and UNDP.
Businessman Chris Kirubi will represent the private sector while Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett will co-chair the group together with Ms Frasch.
The number of students enrolled in Kenya’s vocational schools has increased 13.4 per cent to 55,308 in the four years to 2015.
That of learners in universities has more than doubled over the period from 251,196 to 512,295, reflecting the growing appetite for varsity education that has led to the short supply of technicians.
This has hit recent infrastructure works and prompted some contractors to ship craftsmen from abroad.
About 50 Chinese, Nigerians and Lebanese specialised welders have been hired to construct the new Sh43 billion Nairobi-Mombasa refined oil pipeline.
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