- Trans Nzoia County has received a Sh10 million equipment donation from Tools to Work Netherlands for its 32 vocational training centres.
- The county government has partnered with the Dutch organisation under a five-year agreement, with this consignment being the third of five expected containers.
- County officials have allocated an additional Sh50 million in capitation to support further teaching and learning materials for vocational training centres.
Trans Nzoia County’s 32 vocational training centres are set to benefit from tools and equipment worth more than Sh10 million donated by the Dutch organisation Tools to Work Netherlands.
The equipment, received through the County Department of Education and Vocational Training, is expected to strengthen practical training and improve access to skills development among young people in the county.
Speaking during an inspection of the consignment at the county headquarters on Thursday, Governor George Natembeya said the donation would help address longstanding equipment shortages in vocational training centres. The consignment includes carpentry, electrical, plumbing and building technology tools, sewing machines for fashion design and computers, as well as bicycles for trainees who live far from their respective training centres.
“Every one of our 32 vocational training centres will get these tools so that our students learn by doing, not by listening alone,” Natembeya said. He added that the continued arrival of equipment demonstrated the progress of the partnership between the county government and Tools to Work Netherlands, and that the county remained committed to strengthening technical and vocational education.
The donation is part of a five-year agreement between the county government’s Department of Education and Vocational Training and Tools to Work Netherlands aimed at improving vocational training infrastructure and equipping youth with practical skills.
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County Executive Committee Member for Education and Vocational Training Janerose Nasimiyu Mutama said the equipment and bicycles would contribute to efforts to address youth unemployment. “When a young person has good tools to train with and a bicycle to reach the centre, there is no reason to remain idle at home,” Mutama said.
County Director of Vocational Training Eliud Lusweti said the consignment was the third of five containers expected under the partnership, with two more consignments yet to arrive. Lusweti said vocational centres had for years faced shortages of training equipment, affecting the delivery of practical skills. “Our vocational centres have for a long time lacked equipment. This partnership is helping us fix that, so that our youth can gain practical skills that employers want,” he said.
He added that the bicycles would reduce the time and cost spent by trainees who walk long distances to access vocational training. Lusweti further disclosed that the county government had allocated Sh50 million in capitation to support the purchase of additional teaching and learning materials for the vocational centres.
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He urged parents, guardians and young people, particularly those who have completed Form Four or Class Eight, to consider enrolling in vocational training centres near them, saying the new equipment, coupled with government support, would provide learners with an opportunity to acquire practical skills that could improve their prospects for employment and self-employment.
By Godfrey Wamalwa
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