3,000 Wings to Fly Graduates to Join Technical and Vocation Training Institutes

A total of 3,000 Wings to Fly graduate scholars who sat for their 2016 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (K.C.S.E.) Examinations are set to join Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions across the country.

This initiative comes after Equity Group Foundation (EGF) in conjunction with its partners; the German Government through its implementing agency KfW, Equity Bank, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) launched a youth empowerment programme that will see the young people being equipped with the necessary skills.

The objective of the initiative is to provide the Wings to Fly alumni with life and employability exposure and skills.

While some of them will enrol for 3-month certificate courses, others will be admitted to longer-term diploma courses with a scholarship covering their first 6 months and thereafter apply to the Higher Education Loans Board (H.E.L.B.) to finance the rest of their education.

Speaking during the launch, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Fred Matiang’i said that the ministry is committed to investing in the development of technical and vocational training to address the skills gap in the country’s work force. These efforts align well with the Government’s agenda on embracing the role of tertiary and technical training in national development as well as EGF’s vision to transform the socio-economic lives of the people of Africa.

“The Vision 2030 has placed new demands on Technical & Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a leading engine that the economy must essentially rely upon to produce adequate levels of middle level work force that will be needed to drive the economy towards the attainment of the vision. TVET institutions offer opportunity for many young people to gain tech skills both for self and formal employment.”

Kenya has over 60 public and private TVET institutions and another 70 are under construction, which offer a wide range of training programmes from certificate to diploma levels. They offer a variety of courses including building construction; carpentry and joinery, commercial-based fields; engineering, textile-based programmes, catering, hospitality, plus information and communication technology.

EGF’s Chairman, Dr. James Mwangi announced that the 2,818 Wings to Fly alumni have already undergone a 3-day induction to sensitize them on TVET as well as career advice aimed at positioning their mindset on employability and informing them on appropriate choices of courses to be pursued.

The initiative has offered an opportunity to highlight public-private partnerships as well as demystify technical and vocational training as an avenue for building employability skills. It has also demonstrated the commitment to support quality education as enshrined in Kenya’s economic blueprint, Vision 2030, as well as supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

EGF together with other partners will continue to work with the Directorate of TVET to ensure that the scholars secure admission and placement in appropriate institutions based on their identified course and geographical preferences. 

“Given the high rates of youth unemployment, skills-based training offers the fastest way to secure jobs and to advance in a technical skills-based career path. We are designing a program with several elements to ensure successful transitions through school and into the work place.  The initiative is a set of focused, connected interventions that are informed by EGF’s firsthand experience through the Wings to Fly program 2013-2015 alumni who are currently enrolled in TVET institutions,” Dr. Mwangi added.

Declining enrollment levels, particularly in the traditional engineering and construction based courses, pose a serious challenge to the country’s policy of industrialization, yet industries play a pivotal role in development and growth of the economy. This further exacerbates the mismatch between formal training currently offered and requirements of employers.

On its part, the German Government through its repres