The German government, on Thursday, April 20, announced that it would set up 160 technical training centres in Kenya to empower youths and reduce the unemployment gap.
Confirming the move, German ambassador to Kenya Sebastian Groth stated that the project would cost Ksh22 billion (150 million Euros).
He added that the institutions would be spread across the country, including Western, Coastal, and North Eastern counties.
The project is expected to provide youths nationwide with technical skills to morph into the manufacturing sector and contribute to the economy's growth.
“These centres will be fully equipped to train the youth on welding, renewable and e-mobility, and they will spread across Western, Coastal and North Eastern parts of the country.
“The country is on a path of developing its manufacturing sector and the only way to do that is to have the technical skills required in spurring industrial growth,” he stated.
Additionally, he noted that the development would be done in collaboration with the Toolkit iSkills (TTI), a digital social enterprise that focuses on empowering youth with technical skills.
TTI transforms and trains youth in Construction, Renewable Energy, Digital Skills, and Organic Farming, and links them to jobs.
“We have designed innovative mobile solar training units based on the expertise of our in-house team and industry experts.
“We broke down complex solar energy learning into easy-to-learn and easy-to-demonstrate practice projects,” Jane Muigai, the Director, and Founder, of Toolkit Iskills (TTI), stated.
Muigai called on the government to encourage youths to enrol in institutions to empower them with relevant skills for the job market.
Aside from other projects, Toolkit introduced the Virtual Reality technology method of training in Kenya and East Africa in 2021 and had since trained 33 instructors and assessors and over 100 youth welders using the technology.
