Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani has identified technical and vocational skills acquisition as a necessary ingredient in the socio-economic progress of the county.
Achani has said technical and vocational education is imperative for all round development, noting that young people should embrace Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to acquire hands-on skills that will enhance their socio-economic status.
The governor said her administration is turning its focus to the provision of technical skills in a bid to address the growing deficit in skilled labour in the county, adding that there was a need for young people to value technical and vocational skills other than dreaming of white collar jobs.
Achani made the remarks during the official opening of a technical workshop at the Makina vocational training centre, in Mackinnon ward, Kinango sub-county.
Achani at the same time officially opened the Kamale ECD and Kamale Polytechnic girls’ hostel in Samburu/Chengoni ward Samburu sub-county.
She said the Kamale Polytechnic girls’ hostel has a capacity to accommodate 48 students with 16 cubicles.
“As a devolved unit we are out to tap into the full potential of vocational and technical education and contribute to the development of the local economy,” she said, adding that youth should embrace technical and vocational training to reduce poverty and unemployment.
She said residents should discard the negative perception that the vocational courses are for persons that have failed to pass secondary school level with good grades which is not true.
Achani went on to say that enrolling in technical colleges reduces idleness among the youth, thereby reducing their involvement in crime and drug and substance abuse.
She said the county would continue to creat opportunities in the TVET space to get more youth to acquire rightful skills such as automobile mechanics, carpentry, welding, masonry, refrigeration and air conditioning, beauty therapy, tailoring and dressmaking among other practical skills.
“These diverse training will prepare the youth for the future and create employment avenues and help reduce youth unemployment in the county,” she said, adding that the county would provide start-up equipment to the youth upon completion of technical and vocational courses.
The Governor stated that most of the village vocational training institutes are fully equipped with state-of- the- art machines and tools that will facilitate practical learning and skills acquisition.
Accompanied by Kwale Women Representative Fatuma Masito, the governor has assured of her administration’s readiness to sustain investment in technical and vocational education to drive economic growth at the grassroots.
Achani said that the devolved government has since the advent of devolution in 2013, built 41 technical and vocational training centres designed to help local youth gain practical skills for the labour market and self-reliance.
The county boss added that the essence was to make youths in the county employable in the competitive labour environment through the empowerment programmes and infrastructural development.
On her part, Masito commended the governor for reviving technical education in the coastal county for human capital development.
Masito said it was unfortunate that some of the youth did not embrace or patronize vocational and technical education in the region.
She has stressed the need for youths in the region to embrace vocational training and technical skills instead of desperately seeking academic certificates for the elusive white-collar jobs.
Masito also advised the youth not to look down on vocational and technical education, since it has the potential to equip them with the requisite skills to enable them to become self-employed.
By Hussein Abdullahi
