The government is set to put up a Ksh 2 billion Technical, Industrial, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TIVET) institute at Kilimambogo village in Thika East, Kiambu county.
This comes as the State is intensifying strengthening of vocational training institutes to reposition the sector as a key player in economic development.
Thika town MP, Alice Ng’ang’a, said that the institution will be fully funded by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and its construction will commence in a few months’ time.
The institution will be put up on part of the land that was ceded by fruit juice maker, Del Monte Kenya Limited. The firm ceded 100 acres of its uncultivated land to the government for construction of a college.
The lawmaker noted that with such an institution in Thika East, the youth will be able to acquire key artisan skills that will immediately propel them into employment in the fields of plumbing, electrical and electronics among others.
Ng’ang’a spoke on Wednesday while disbursing Ksh 40 million worth of bursary cheques to beneficiaries from Gatuanyaga and Ngoliba wards.
“We now have NSSF on board who are ready to fund the project to the tune of Ksh 2 billion. It will begin immediately and I have already asked the area Deputy County Commissioner to talk to the Del Monte management,” she said.
The MP noted that the project will attract more developments in the region.
Plans to construct the project in the area were welcomed by locals who decried that their children had been travelling far from home for training.
While lauding the bursaries given to their children to continue with education at a time that most of them are struggling financially owing to high cost of living, the parents urged Del Monte to collaborate with the government to fast-track the construction process.
Meanwhile, MP Ng’ang’a sustained calls for equity in distribution of education funds to learners across the country.
The legislator insisted that bursary funds must be equalized among all learners for fairness, decrying that while some students have been getting full scholarships while others do not get a coin despite being from humble backgrounds.
By Kamau Njoroge
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