The Mt. Kenya University (MKU) students are set to gain manufacturing skills from Africa’s Food and Beverages manufacturing giant Bidco Ltd, following a deal to provide them with industrial attachment opportunities.
The students pursuing manufacturing, sales and marketing and entrepreneurship courses will be placed at the various Bidco plants across the region during their attachment period and will be trained on various aspects of the sectors.
The MKU Vice Chancellor (VC), Prof. Peter Wanderi said the deal would improve the students’ employability and competitiveness as well as help them learn how to venture into the manufacturing sector.
Speaking during the unveiling of the partnership at the institution on Monday, Wanderi said skill management in the manufacturing sector was necessary to avert the massive closure of industries that has been witnessed in the recent past. He added that their students’ ability to gain industrial attachment in the manufacturing sector would be enhanced, unlike before.
“It would not only improve our student’s competitiveness but also help them learn unique skills of manufacturing, entrepreneurship and marketing. We hope to see more of such partnership by other companies to help in skill management,” said Prof. Wanderi.
This comes as a report by the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) 2018 on skills mismatch estimated that about 66 per cent of university graduates are not prepared for work and that potential employers were shifting to look for dynamic skills in graduates that they bring onboard.
The Bidco Africa Group Director, Chris Diaz noted the mismatch that university students exhibited in the job market saying courses that the institutions offerred should be responsive to the job market.
“With the unemployment rate among the youth being about 55 percent, this partnership is timely. It comes at a time when we are expanding our ventures in new innovative product categories,” noted Diaz.
The two corporates will also be able to hold joint conferences, workshops and seminars on topical areas that will help align the curriculum on some of the subject courses relevant to the manufacturing, sales and marketing sectors.
By Muoki Charles
