President William Ruto has said that he is committed to see that every constituency has established a TVET institution so as to equalize the fortunes of every county and give a chance to many young people to learn.
The President was speaking at Kabete National Polytechnic in Nairobi during the closing of the 100 years of TVET celebrations.
Ruto said that TVET has positioned itself as a master key to the door of opportunity of young Kenyans where the numbers are growing from 89,000 students in 2013 to over 700,000 now, which speaks to the possibilities that TVETs is offering to many young people across Kenya.
“Today We have equalized the fortunes of all Kenyans. The choices are as open as they can get. You have students joining universities or TVET equally and have the opportunity,” he said.
He said that he has issued instructions for the reinstatement of the development, education and training curriculum, assessment and certification council, CDACC and takes over the role of examining of students.
He said prior learning is an important tool of getting more people to be certified especially when they have acquired skills over time and there is a need for a framework as a government policy.
He encouraged TVETs principals to work with industries so as to connect with what happens in class and in industry to provide opportunities for young people.
He said that they are working on the funding model to ensure children from vulnerable families are not left behind.
“We have deliberately doubled the budget for training in TVET and in universities deliberately because we want to give every child in Kenya an opportunity to learn,” he said.
He said that there has been a bit of confusion and have asked the ministry to clarify that some of the letters sent to parents may indicate Sh 300,000 or Sh 200,000 but that is not what a parent is supposed to pay but the cost of the course.
“The government is going to make scholarship loans available depending on the financial ability of parents or guardians or sponsors of students so that we make it possible for the government to support many students especially from vulnerable situations,” he said.
The President announced that a programme to equip TVET colleges at a cost of Sh13 billion was now complete.
He thanked Germany and Canada, among other countries, for supporting the development of tertiary education in the country.
“It’s now upon the management of TVET to identify the institutions to benefit from the equipment,” Ruto said.
He praised the partnership between Kenya and development partners, saying it has gone a long way in improving the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies in the sector.
“We have benefited greatly from the goodwill of generous friends, including the TVET Technical Working Group, the UN Habitat, the International Labour Organisation, the World Bank, Germany, Canada, China and Finland. We are grateful for your support for this historic transformation,” he said.
The President urged young people, especially graduates from tertiary institutions, to pay close attention to the job opportunities being unlocked through “overseas employment strategy and bilateral labour agreements with various governments”.
He said the State Department for Diaspora Affairs is spearheading the Kazi Majuu programme, while the National Employment Agency maintains an up-to-date database on available job opportunities.
“I encourage you to look up your opportunity and get ready to work your way to success,” he said.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said that the TVET program is training an all rounder, training on those who can capitalize on opportunities internationally and locally and those who can be entrepreneurs and generate jobs in the country.
“The TVET program is so critical, but we also have a very huge population, a young population and we need to race against time so that they can get opportunities but the bulk of opportunities must be found in TVETs and the private sector should know that is where the bulk of opportunities will go,” he said.
Ambassador of the federal republic of Germany Sebastian Groth said that Germans are strong believers in TVETs as it is a very practical oriented education that creates skilled people with excellent job opportunities.
“TVET institutions create people that create stuff and that is very important. In Germany TVET is an old model that in enrooted in our history, in our industrialization and our traditional arts and craftsmanship and has since been modernized over the years and it has led to the results that Germany is amongst the leading countries with the lowest level of youth unemployment in the European union,” he said
He said that Germany’s commitment here in Kenya is evident through various programs that encourage industry collaborations with training institutions to facilitate industry placements and mentorships.
“It is this partnership between industry and private sector and public training institutions that makes TVETs special as it is the combination of theoretical and practical skills that makes TVETs so particular,’ he said.
He said that Germany supports Kenya through technical cooperation and financial cooperation and is also collaborating with European partners like France in the field of digitalization of TVET and Finland and Canada.
He said that they collaborated with the State department of TVETs in dual training, strengthening the collaboration of TVETs and the private sector.
He said that they have equipped more than 62,000 youths with skills in various vocational training courses, 44% being females and have help to in creating over 49,000 jobs where 29% being female and also financed TVET training infrastructure providing state of the art training equipment and have provided over 3,500 scholarships for TVET education through the wings to fly program that is implemented by KFW and equity group foundation.
He said that Germany is also mobilizing co-financing with the French Development Agency and the European Union to join in support of 100 TVET institutions in their digitization efforts so that they can join Kenya institutions with German institutions in weekly and monthly feedback training skills.
He said in September this year Germany will sign a labour migration mobility agreement with Kenya to facilitate skilled labour migration.
Principal secretary state department TVETs Esther Muoria said that the principals of TVETs have driven up the space and are taking TVETs in the right direction.
“Give us a few years and you will see a difference that this space is going to make not only in the institutions but for Kenya and internationally because we have decided as a team to work in this space to take the country into the next level of skilled labour,” Muoria said
Polytechnic governing council Agnes Wanjiru Kabete national polytechnic is the oldest training institution having been established in 1924 having been established as a native industrial training vehicle to support the maintenance of the Kenya Uganda railway.
“Kabete polytechnic is leading by example being the first born TVET institution in the fast changing TVET space and we would like to celebrate President William Ruto for giving TVETs the prominence it needs and prioritizing industry skills based development and the formal recognition of skills already gained,” Wanjiru said.
By Felix Wanderi
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