Demand Driven Technical and Vocational Training

The overall objective of TVET according to the YEVT policy is to produce a critical mass of well-trained human resources to implement programmes and projects identified in Kenya’s Vision 2030. There have therefore been efforts to align TVET programmes to national goals and market needs. A number of interventions by the government, the private sector and through public private partnerships have been implemented in order to offer young people with relevant skills and connect them to employers.

Case Study 1: Generation Kenya

Generation Kenya is part of a global youth employment program that offers youth skills and connects them to employers seeking the highly skilled motivated talents. It is supported by the United States Government through USAID in collaboration with SIDA, McKinsey &

Company and Safaricom and implemented in partnership with GOK technical institutions.

The youth who are mostly form four and primary school leavers are equipped with employability, vocational and technical skills. The trainings are done through boot camp model with a focus on retail, restaurant services, sewing machine operations, financial sales, customer good distribution and banking. The trainings are conducted in 33 locations across 20 counties.

Successes:

Since 2015, over 14,000 youth have graduated from the trainings 57% of whom are young women. 84% of those who have graduated have secured decent jobs from a network of over 350 employers. According to the Generation Kenya website, 78% of those who undergo initial placements have been absorbed by the employers for continuity.

The total project cost is USD20,630,000. USAID Contribution is USD 4,000,000 and SIDA Contribution USD 4,500,000 (to confirm Safaricom and McKinsey & Company Contributions).

Case Study 2: Kenya Youth Empowerment and Employment Project: Phase 1 and 2 In 2010 KEPSA in partnership with GOK and with support from the World Bank implemented a 6 year Kenya Youth Empowerment Project which aimed at providing vulnerable youth aged 15-29 years and who were not working with relevant skills and work experience. Selected youth who were drawn from Kisumu, Mombasa and Nairobi were trained for two months and provided with paid internship in the formal and informal sector for four months.

55 | P a g e Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project

The Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP 2016-2021) is a spin- off the successful KEPSA led KYEP project. It is a government intervention that is being coordinated by the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs and is supported by the World Bank. The project aims to reach 280,000 youths in its implementation period by offering them training and work experience, supporting job creation, improving labour market information and strengthening youth policy development and project management.

Successes

During the life of the program the first phase 1 of the project (KYEP) that ended in February 2016, 20,384 youth against a target of 15,000 received training; a good proportion of them being young women at 47%. 13,289 were placed in internship, 49% of them being young women

Out of those placed in internships, 75% secured decent employment. The success of that project which was demand and supply driven led to the design and implementation of an ongoing Youth Employment and Opportunities Project.

Testimonials from the beneficiaries of phase 2 (KYEOP) which commenced in 2016 speak of how they have benefited from trainings in life skills where they learn to be confident and independent, core business skills that have helped them start and manage their businesses.

Impact to date. (KYEOP) which has secured KSh 890,000,000 hopes to reach out to 70,000 and has for the last 2 years benefited 2,579 youth

Kenya Youth Empowerment Project(KYEP) 2010-2016 Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project

56 | P a g e Skills

No of Youth placed in internship No of Youth that

secured

jobs or started a business

Case Study 3: National Youth Service Programme

The National Youth Service is a government agency that was established in 1964 to harness the energy of the youth while instilling the principles of service and hard work, combining high discipline and vocational training. Fifty years later in 2014, it was restructured into an agency that executes a youth empowerment master plan. Part of the plan is to offer vocational and technical skills training to young people in Kenya, targeting those aged 18-22 years.

Successes

As at December 2017 and through the Youth Empowerment Project, 66,848 youth had been recruited into NYS and were being equipped with leadership, vocation and technical skills offered from a pool of schools that include, school of hospitality, school of fashion, school of engineering, school of Oil and Gas and School of Public Duty. NYS programmes have contributed to structured transformation of the youth, empowerment of community youth through their gainful engagement, creation of a youth economy and enhanced employability in the job market and a significant reduction of crime levels. The same youth have contributed to improved basic infrastructures such as roads, clinics, police posts, ablution blocks, and social halls through their services.

The Service from NYS is contributing to the food security pillar of our Big Four agenda and recently launched a seed potato project in Tumaini, Nyandarua Country which is providing farmers with certified potato seeds. Cotton growing has also taken root in the NYS farms where more than 350 acres are under cotton. In addition, NYS has been charged with the responsibility of stitching uniforms for all the Disciplined Services.

57 | P a g e Case Study 4: Promoting Youth Employment through Technical Human Development Project

Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) in partnership with GIZ in line with Kenya’s Agenda 4 have been running a Technical Vocational and Education (TVET) Program since January 2017 to date. The goal of this program is to make the youths more employable and solve the skill gaps in industries especially the manufacturing industries which has the highest potential of creating jobs and income for the youth as well as boosting Kenya economic growth.

Successes

According to reports from GIZ and KAM, 922 TVET graduates have been trained on work readiness, out of which 690 graduate trainees have been placed in industries for internship.

The remaining 222 are being prioritized in the ongoing industrial placements at the national and regional level through what they refer to as job bazaars, complimented by job summits.

Job bazaars act as connectors for TVET graduates and industries. Remarkably, out of the 647 graduate trainees placed in industries for internships, 355 have been employed.

Similarly, as at May 2019, 15 industries had committed to offer paid internships to 43 TVET graduates, according to the skill gaps in the industries. This presents a good indication of the programmes sustainability.

Appreciating the role and power of digital connection that facilitates access to employment opportunities, GIZ and KAM in the year 2019 launched TVET job site and recruitment portal that provides a platform for industries (who are the employers) and the TVET graduates (who are the job seekers) to meet. To date 902 graduates who having gone through the KAM/GIZ E4D SOGA work readiness training have successfully uploaded their profiles of the job site.

69 employers-Industries are actively engaged on the site. A total of 40 jobs were posted between March-May 2019 and 5 successful recruitments done through the TVET job portal by 28^th May 2019.

Further and according to KAM and GIZ reports, there is a growing TVET skills demand, across the seven sectors of KAM’s member industries. As such, 40 technical training institutions have been secured to provide the necessary skills set required by the respective industries.

5.2 Increased Economic Opportunities through Entrepreneurship Development