Youth from Samburu East Constituency are set to benefit from a vocational training program aimed at equipping them with technical skills to improve living standard.
The youth at the grassroots level and through ‘Ujuzi Mashinani’ project aim at establishing a localized training approach that will help them access informal training in diverse technical courses that would empower them economically.
Through the establishment of satellite training centers that will be rolled out by the Samburu Technical and Vocational Education and Training, the young people will learn skills like mobile phone repairing, electrical installation, motorbike maintenance, and hairdressing among other fields of training activities.
Speaking after receiving learning equipment worth Sh. 12.8 million from the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), Samburu East Member of Parliament Mr Jackson Lekumontare lauded the initiative as one which is going to help reduce cases of insecurity and cattle rustling in the region since the youth would be fully engaged in alternative and lucrative businesses.
Lekumontare said that equipping youth with the technical skills was going to create job opportunities adding that through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) kitty, additional bursary would be made available for those enrolling for ‘Ujuzi Mashinani’ initiative.
“My appeal is to see that more youths in the county enroll in the program and acquire the important skills to develop themselves,” the MP said.
The USAID chief of the party Hussein Noor said that the ‘Ujuzi Mashinani’ program would benefit 350 youths in the first cohort through five satellite centres at the grassroots level.
Noor said the courses that will be taught have been identified through a labour market assessment so as to maximize the potential of the trainees getting viable jobs after completing their courses as well as encouraging self-employment by offering services not available locally.
He added that the program will also support training centres with electricity generators in areas where there is no power supply to enable them to teach courses that require electricity.
The learners enrolled will get the training in the comfort of their homes to help them go on with their day-to-day activities while learning at the established satellite centers.
The program will be implemented by USAID-Nawiri in partnership with the Samburu Technical and Vocational Training and Education College, the NG-CDF and the County government of Samburu.
By David Nduro
