President Kenyatta said he strongly supported practical training in areas where skills were in short supply, including in technical, mechanics, masonry, electric engineering, and plumbing/PSCU
SAGANA, Kenya, Jun 2 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has pitched strongly for technical and vocational education, saying Kenya’s growth hinged on matching skills with jobs.
At a meeting with Mastercard Foundation chief Reeter Roy and Equity Bank Group CEO James Mwangi, the President said he wanted to see learner-led education in TVETS, which would lead to young people finding jobs in areas they were truly interested in.
President Kenyatta said he strongly supported practical training in areas where skills were in short supply, including in technical, mechanics, masonry, electric engineering, and plumbing.
Ideally, TVET training would be supported by apprenticeships within industry, ensuring that thousands of graduates had ready jobs to go to.
President Kenyatta also spoke about Kenya’s support for online jobs, which required little capital but had guaranteed income from jobs around the world.
As an example, he said online transcription services could help cut the time judges and magistrates spent on hand-written notes and judgements, delivering justice faster.
Roy told the President that Mastercard Foundation and its partners were keen to deepen their engagement with Kenya, and specifically in areas the President saw as having significant impact on economic growth.
Education Cabinet Secretary Amb Amina Mohamed and Youth Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia also attended the meeting, which also discussed STEM – the President’s initiative promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in schools.
Amb Amina said her team at the Education Ministry was reviewing the way learning was designed in TVETS to ensure learners had access to skills they desired, but importantly, matched to market demand.
Mastercard and Equity Foundation already work on a programme that supports thousands of Kenyan students attend college in mainly the world’s top universities. Last year, Equity launched its support for disadvantaged learners in TVETS.
