Governors Partner with Godrej to Launch Hairdressing Programs

Over 20,000 youth are expected to be trained in hairdressing and beauty therapy under the Wezesha Youth program in a bid to grow local small and medium enterprises while supporting the reduction in unemployment among youth.

The program – a partnership between the Council of Governors and Godrej Group of Companies – will be rolled out nationwide as part of the National Government competence-based education for vocational training centers.

Speaking during the launch of the program at Chebigen Vocational Training Centre in Kericho, Godrej CEO Gaurav Kaushal said that the company recognizes that vocation training enables sustainable enterprise development in Kenya.

“Through the hairdressing and beauty therapy training, we hope that our youth would be empowered to identify and seize emerging opportunities that can help Kenya sustain its productivity. They will also be provided with financial literacy, communication, and business skills to enable them to be entrepreneurs,’ said Mr. Kaushal.

In the last two years, Godrej Kenya ran a pilot program where 1000 youths in vocational training centers in Nairobi, Kitui, Trans Nzoia, Migori, Machakos, Kisii, and Uasin Gishu counties were trained. Following learnings made in this pilot phase, the Wezesha Youth Program was redesigned for sustainability and scale.

The next phase of the program’s implementation will target 20,000 youth in 22 counties^[1] in ultra-modern designed training labs established to facilitate the delivery of quality training.

“Through this program, we envision in creating an employable workforce among underprivileged youth from informal settlements in urban Kenya and rural Kenya,” added Mr. Kaushal.