- PS Esther Muoria has challenged TVET institutions to make fuller use of the Sh14 billion machinery investment covering 70 technical colleges, citing underutilisation.
- She has pointed to the Affordable Housing Programme as a market opportunity, noting only a few colleges have submitted product samples to the Ministry of Housing.
- The government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Consolidated Bank to finance Kenyans seeking employment opportunities abroad, broadening the country’s technical-skills strategy.
Kenya has invested billions of shillings in modern machinery for technical colleges, but the bigger question now is whether the equipment will remain training infrastructure or become a powerful engine for production, innovation, jobs and institutional revenue.
PS Muoria has challenged Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to make full use of machinery installed by the government, saying some colleges are yet to exploit the equipment despite a Sh14 billion investment covering 70 technical institutions.
Muoria said the machinery should not merely sit in workshops as training equipment. Instead, colleges should use it to develop products, support innovation, generate income and respond to actual market demands. Her message comes at a time when Kenya is seeking to expand technical skills while creating pathways for young people to move from classrooms and workshops into productive economic activity.
A Missed Opportunity in Housing Materials
Speaking on October 1, 2026, during the inaugural graduation ceremony at Gichugu Technical and Vocational College in Kirinyaga County, Muoria pointed to the Affordable Housing Programme as one of the immediate markets that TVET institutions could tap. The Ministry of Housing has reportedly approached technical institutions seeking locally manufactured construction materials, including hinges and locks. However, Mworia said only a small number of colleges had submitted samples.
That gap exposes one of the central challenges facing Kenya’s TVET expansion: investing in equipment is only the beginning. The real test is whether institutions can connect training, technology, production and markets. If a college has modern machinery but does not use it to develop commercially viable products, the investment risks producing graduates who possess certificates without gaining sufficient exposure to real industrial production.
The housing programme therefore offers more than a government procurement opportunity. It could provide TVET institutions with a practical environment in which students and trainers test designs, improve quality, meet production standards and understand how goods move from a workshop to the market. For principals, the challenge is increasingly shifting from managing training institutions to building institutions that can also participate meaningfully in the economy.
Mworia said major government projects and infrastructure developments could provide markets for locally produced goods and skilled technical labour, with the construction and manufacturing sectors in particular requiring artisans, technicians and other professionals capable of translating technical knowledge into practical solutions.
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Stronger Industry Partnerships Needed
The opportunity also extends beyond institutional production. Gichugu TVC Principal Joseph Kimemia called for stronger partnerships between technical institutions and industry so that the skills being taught correspond with the requirements of employers. Such partnerships could help colleges understand emerging technologies, update curricula, expose students to workplace practices and create clearer transitions from training to employment.
The challenge is particularly important because graduation alone does not guarantee economic independence. A technically trained young person may possess the required skills but lack the tools, capital, market access or business networks needed to turn those skills into an enterprise. Gichugu MP Gichimu Githinji consequently called for programmes to equip graduates with tools of work, arguing that some young people could create businesses rather than wait indefinitely for formal employment.
This approach places entrepreneurship at the centre of technical education. A trained mason with the right equipment can establish a construction enterprise. A trained welder can create a fabrication workshop. An electrician can establish a service business. A motor vehicle technician can operate a garage. A graduate in manufacturing can potentially move beyond seeking employment and participate in production.
But turning that possibility into reality requires more than motivational speeches. Graduates need access to affordable finance, tools, workspace, markets, mentorship and business development support, while TVET institutions themselves need stronger commercial and industrial linkages if their machinery is to become productive beyond classroom demonstrations.
Measuring the Return on a Sh14 Billion Investment
The government’s reported Sh14 billion machinery investment therefore presents a broader question about the return on public investment in technical education. The return should not be measured only by the number of machines delivered or students trained. It should also be visible in products manufactured, innovations developed, enterprises established, contracts won, jobs created and industries strengthened.
Mworia also disclosed that the government had entered into a memorandum of understanding with Consolidated Bank to facilitate financing for Kenyans seeking employment opportunities abroad. The arrangement is intended to help qualified workers cover the costs of travelling to take up overseas employment, with repayment expected after they secure jobs. That initiative points to another dimension of Kenya’s technical-skills strategy: creating opportunities for skilled Kenyans both within the country and in international labour markets.
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Yet the domestic opportunity remains significant. Kenya’s construction, manufacturing, energy, transport, housing and other sectors require technicians and artisans who can deliver practical solutions. The country therefore has an opportunity to position TVET colleges not simply as institutions that produce job seekers, but as centres where skills, technology, innovation and enterprise converge.
The message from the Sh14 billion machinery investment is consequently straightforward: equipment must work. A machine locked inside a workshop cannot create a job. A machine used by students and trainers to design, manufacture and sell quality products can become part of a much larger economic chain.
Kenya’s TVET transformation will ultimately be judged not only by how much the country spends on technical institutions, but by what those institutions produce with the investment. The next phase should therefore move from machinery installation to measurable production, from graduation ceremonies to enterprise creation, and from technical qualifications to productive livelihoods. The opportunity is already visible. The bigger challenge is turning it into results.
By Hillary Muhalya
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