PS Muoria challenges TVETs to train youth for industry, self-employment
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Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions must move beyond enrolling and graduating students to ensuring that trainees acquire skills that respond to industry needs and enable them to earn a living, Principal Secretary for TVET Dr Esther Muoria has said.
Dr Muoria said TVET institutions should be intentional in designing training programmes, arguing that institutions must first understand the needs of industry and then equip young people with skills that match those needs.
“We cannot continue doing things the same way we have done for a long time and expect different results. The government is insisting that we must be intentional in what we are doing,” she said.
Speaking during the first graduation ceremony at Kaelo Technical and Vocational College, the PS said the focus should shift from simply producing graduates to achieving tangible outcomes for trainees.
“It is not a question of having young people coming to school, staying for some months and getting out. We have to train young people with intention. A training programme must have a clear destination,” Dr Muoria said.
She challenged TVET principals to make optimal use of equipment in their workshops to train learners while also generating income for their institutions.
Dr Muoria cited the production of items such as hinges and stays, which she said could be supplied to the affordable housing programme, as an example of how TVET workshops could become centres of production, innovation and enterprise.
“I challenge Kaelo TVC therefore to make optimal use of the equipment they have to benefit learners and make money out of it. Workshops should be solving problems,” she said.
The PS said the government was committed to equipping TVET institutions, noting that additional equipment worth Sh13 billion was being provided to institutions across the country.
She also challenged institutions to undertake research aimed at developing practical solutions using locally available materials, citing the potential use of sisal in making hair extensions.
“Get a real problem to solve, research on it and get a solution. We want an outcome and not an output in terms of our trainees leaving training institutions. Where are we graduating them to go?” she posed.
Dr Muoria said the government was also seeking to expand opportunities for TVET graduates to access employment locally and abroad.
She revealed that a dedicated TVET recruitment team had already recruited 37 graduates from Kaelo TVC for employment opportunities abroad.
She added that the government had partnered with Consolidated Bank of Kenya to facilitate access to financing for young people seeking employment opportunities abroad, with beneficiaries expected to repay the loans later.
“Kaelo TVC is part of the wider transformation. Its workshops, equipment and community service provide a strong platform for continuing to deepen the connection between training, production, enterprise and industry,” she said.
Dr Muoria said TVET institutions must embrace the philosophy of training “from industry, with industry and for industry” to ensure that graduates remain useful to themselves, their families, communities and the country.
She also urged graduates to return to TVET institutions for further training whenever they identify additional skills they need.
“As we graduate the young people, let us remember that we have to be intentional in what we are doing. To young people, in the unlikely event that there is any other skill that you need, please come back. We are prepared to upskill you,” she said.
Kaelo TVC Principal Joseph Kimathi said the institution was seeking to expand its enrollment and strengthen its relationship with the community and industry.
Kimathi said about 800 new students had been admitted for the September intake following an enrolment drive conducted by the institution and the county administration.
He said the college currently had about 1,450 trainees and had set a target of reaching 3,000 students by 2027.
“We train for quality. Our vision is to have 3,000 trainees by 2027,” said Kimathi.
He said the college had also commissioned a community garage in Laare and was planning to establish another one in Maua to extend technical services and training opportunities to communities and students.
Kimathi said the college was committed to providing accessible, relevant and quality technical training that equips young people with practical skills.
“We train with industry for industry. We also embrace Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to enable people with existing skills to have them formally assessed and recognised,” said Mr Kimathi.
The principal noted that eight members of staff graduating during the ceremony had been employed by Kaelo TVC, describing this as evidence that skills acquired at the institution could translate into employment, professional growth and opportunities to serve the community.
He urged the graduates to use their skills to create opportunities, develop products and services, establish enterprises and contribute to the development of their communities.
“Continue learning, embrace technology and remain adaptable in the rapidly changing world of work,” he told the graduates.
Igembe North MP Julius Taitumu said he was delighted to be part of the college’s inaugural graduation ceremony, commending the principal and Board of Management for the progress made by the institution.
Taitumu said the institution had faced challenges but was making progress in addressing them.
He urged parents to change their perception of TVET qualifications, saying technical skills could enable young people to become employers rather than job seekers.
“This is not the time to think that a TVET certificate is inferior to others. If utilised well, one can become an employer rather than being employed,” he said.
The MP also urged parents and the community to avoid politicising the institution and instead support its growth.
He challenged the college to ensure that its equipment was put to productive use, saying idle equipment would not benefit learners or the community.
“We will not pride ourselves by having the equipment lying idle in the workshop. It is a national facility and if you don’t make use of it, others will,” he said.
Taitumu called on leaders, parents and the community to work together to strengthen Kaelo TVC and promote technical skills development in Igembe North.
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