Leaders and experts have said that technical skills are the best way to address youth joblessness and steer the country’s economic development.
They maintain that parents and youth must explore Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a viable alternative to university education, noting that technical skills are playing a pivotal role in transforming Kenya into an industrialized, middle-income country.
They raised concerns that Universities are churning out thousands of graduates yearly who end up jobless due to the courses they studied.
Gatundu North MP Elijah Njoroge Kururia said that youths seeking to advance their education must be guided to make the right choice of courses, noting that the country has millions of jobless graduates due to wrong course choices.
The MP noted that technological advancements, including artificial intelligence, have rendered most courses offered in higher learning institutions unmarketable.
While presenting employment letters to 10 newly recruited teachers by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) at Kamwangi town, Kururia maintained that for the youth to fit in the job market, they must consider pursuing market-driven technical courses.
“Even teachers have been tarmacking for years without getting a proper job with good terms. But those who acquired technical skills have never lacked a job, and some have even gone ahead and established their enterprises,” Kururia said.
Other experts, led by Gorgeous Technical Institute Director Jackline Waithera, called on youth across the country to pursue highly marketable world skills, including fashion and design, electrical installation, welding, plumbing, hospitality, hairdressing, beauty, and entrepreneurship, among others, to enable them to meet the country’s high demand for specialists.
Waithera, in an interview, noted with concern that the country is facing a shortage of skilled manpower to power the economy, adding that this creates a noble opportunity for unemployed youths in the country to acquire vital skills and secure jobs.
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“The goal is to achieve better socio-economic conditions for today’s youth to address unemployment and underemployment challenges. Technical skills and/or courses are highly marketable as one can immediately secure a job upon completion and or start their income-generating enterprises,” the Director said.
She also challenged youths studying in technical colleges to be more aggressive in acquiring additional skills such as business management and computer studies so as to have a head-start in the job market and in seeking self-employment.
“It’s imperative for youths to be equipped with hands-on skills that will go a long way in enabling them to secure jobs or start their ventures. White-collar jobs are drastically shrinking and are being taken up by technological advancements. To beat joblessness, we must equip our youths with technical skills,” she said
Kelvin Makumi, a student pursuing hairdressing and beauty at the institution, noted that he decided to enrol in the vocational course after tarmacking for years despite having graduated with an IT degree from a local university.
Robert Ngugi, a teacher who received his employment letter on Permanent and Pensionable terms, affirmed that the country is in a joblessness crisis.
He has worked as a teacher in a local school and has been employed by the school’s Board of Management for the last 10 years.
Meanwhile, MP Kururia hailed the government for employing the teachers, noting that they would play a key role in addressing the teacher shortage in Gatundu North.
Some schools in the constituency, including MIIRI Primary School, have few teachers, which has affected the quality of education for learners.
By Kamau Njoroge
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