Trade and Investment Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, on Friday, April 21, confirmed that the government will offer 6,000 internship slots targeting diploma and certificate students.
In a statement, the former Gatundu South Member of Parliament indicated that the programme targets students from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes and polytechnics.
According to the trade CS, the successful applicants will be placed in different Export Processing Zones (EPZ).
Kuria further elaborated that students pursuing pharmaceuticals and apparel would benefit from the internship opportunities.
"As a part of this effort, we have launched 6,000 EPZ internships in apparel and pharmaceuticals, which will be available through TVETs and polytechnics nationwide," Kuria announced.
How Students Will be picked
Explaining the selection process, Kuria indicated that the internships will be allocated through members of parliament, a similar model used in giving out bursaries through the Constituency Development Funds (CDF).
"These internships, provided in collaboration with the national government through EPZs, will be allocated through Members of Parliament," Kuria.
Kuria made the announcement while launching the careers and TVET day at Tetu Technical and Vocational College (Kagwathi) in Nyeri County.
Tetu MP Geoffrey Wandeto and other local leaders in the region accompanied Kuria during the launch.
Kuria's sentiments came after Public Service Commission (PSC) on Tuesday, March 28, announced plans to recruit 1,300 TVET trainers.
The announcement honoured President William Ruto's pledge to increase the capacity of TVETS.
"We will convert our TVET institutions into digital academic organisations. In phase one, we will distribute computers in 100 TVETs and ensure every academic organisation has a digital laboratory,' Ruto stated.
The internship for diploma and certificate students will supplement 20,000 others announced by President Ruto in various government agencies.
“I want to announce that the first step is that we have today 3,900 interns. For the next intake next year, I will suggest that we start with 20,000 because I am told that those who applied were 31,000 and only 3,900 had an opportunity not to get a job but to just have a feel of what government public service looks like,” Ruto stated.
