The government through the Ministry of Public Service and Delivery Management, The National Youth Service (NYS) in collaboration with county government of Uasin Gishu is set to introduce NYS VTC-Mashinani to train and equip majority of unemployed youth with various skills right at the ward level to enable them become employable both in the county and outside in order to take part in national development in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda of government (BETA).
In a press briefing during his tour in Uasin Gishu to assess the 13 Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) in the county, Public Service and Delivery Management Cabinet Secretary, Moses Kuria indicated that the collaboration is to see how they can upgrade the vocational institutions to become NYS VTC- Mashinani where the national government will equip them as the county takes on infrastructural development.
“We are here because of the issue of unemployment in our country and the government has prioritized the issue of jobs. We should use all means possible to tackle the unemployment among the youth to give them direction and hope in life,” he noted.
He mentioned that the instructors will come from NYS and that they will establish digital hubs in the vocational centres for digital jobs not only for the students but also for the youth outside who will go there to do digital jobs to support themselves.
He added that the move will ensure the youths are prepared and well versed with necessary skills to work in various government projects especially the affordable housing, CAIPs, EPZs and others.
Noting that President William Ruto is keen on seeking job opportunities for the youth to work outside the country where they have already secured immense opportunities, the CS alluded that VTCs will play a critical role as training and recruitment centres for workers to the outside countries like Saudi Arabia, Australia, Germany and others.
“I can assure you today we have a lot of opportunities. Next month I am going to Germany to talk to them on how they can come here to use those VTCs to train people who will go to work in Germany. I have gone to Saudi Arabia, Korea, Australia and all those will have an opportunity to use our vocational centres which will become recruitment centres. VTCs will be factories to prepare our youth to go and work outside the country,” said the CS.
He affirmed government’s commitment to ensure every youth gets employed as its promise under the BETA and that VTCs is one of the ways through which that is achieved.
CS Kuria decried that the country’s educational system has been neglecting people with low grades like Ds and Es noting that all of them are like raw materials to develop our country and that leaving them behind is like throwing away useful raw materials out of the factory.
He further pointed out that the move is intended to save the government spending in terms of taking NYS to TVETS which he said the government spent Sh.5.4 billion for 20000 students last year.
He went on to explain that this year they are recruiting 30000 NYS trainees in which 15000 have already been recruited and the other batch is set to be recruited in August this year. Next year the government will recruit 40000 and by 2027 the figure will hit 100000 which will require about Sh 30 billion to take them to TVET.
“If we go by the same method, we will be requiring Sh.30 billion by 2027 for taking these students to TVET after they finish the paramilitary training. And we are saying now we want them to go back where they have come from to be trained from there so that we can be able to save this money that we have been spending on food accommodation,” explained CS Kuria.
“And we are going to use this money on one to expand on equipment, instructors, as the county deals with infrastructural development,” he added.
Uasin Gishu governor Dr. Jonathan Chelilim welcomed the move which he said will improve the institutions’ infrastructure to ensure the youth have ample learning environment to train and gain requisite skills to enable them work in the outside countries.
“We have been struggling from time to time in terms of funding and equipment and to revamp our 13 VTCs in the county which are ideally not enough as we are supposed to have 30 centres in each of the 30 wards across the county,” he said.
“The CS today is visiting us on a programme on how we are going to bring up the issue of NYS in our colleges so that they can do some training. For us this will be good because our institution’s infrastructure will be improved, we will have some support. Our young people who come from around will have the opportunity to train right from the VTCs,” added the governor.
Governor Chelilim commended the partnership which he said will be of much benefit to the county which has been struggling to fund VTCs under tough conditions.
By Ekuwam Sylvester
