Artisans under Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) want their skills to be included in the education system syllabi to allow them provide training to interested young people, thus enjoy government recognition.
Speaking during the Small and Medium Enterprises Expo at the University of Embu, the artisans protested over continued takeover of their art by academics who went ahead to launch the various courses in private and government vocational colleges.
They confessed to having casually trained a large number of young people who later went ahead to start businesses using the free skills they had acquired.
Majority of the owners of the enterprises which showcased their innovations insisted that imparting of skills to more Kenyans, especially the youth, had the potential to spur economic development.
Crocheting, beads decoration, and Jua Kali oven and traditional kiondo artisanship were identified as some of the enterprises that were barely recognized, yet apprentices took advantage of them to make money.
The skills, the artisans say, need to be streamlined through formal education and teaching curricula to facilitate their accessibility and profit-making.
“I have been offering training for free to those who are interested. I have even tried to talk to school managements to invite me to their institutions during the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) practicals but that has not been successful,” said one Teresia Wambeti.
Diana Karimi, a bead worker, said if the government incorporated her skills in the curriculum, she would be a good trainer.
“I am confident that I can offer elaborate training to young people and impart them with skills to start their own businesses and earn a decent living,” she said.
By Robert Nyagah
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