The youth in Garissa have been urged to join Technical and Vocational Education Training institutions to acquire skills instead of relying on white-collar jobs that are scare.
Speaking in Garissa on Friday after donating sewing machines to women and the youth, Garissa county secretary Abdi Sheikh said the institutions built by the national government across the county are well equipped to empower the youth in the county.
Youth from three subcounties of Ijara, Lagdera and Balambala benefitted from the donation.
Sheikh regretted that many youth still have the mentality that the only way for one to succeed in life is by having a white-collar job. He said that notion is doing more harm than good.
“The national and county governments cannot employ all job seekers, so we must explore alternative ways to meet the needs of the growing population," Shiekh said.
He said as a county, they have realised the huge problem of unemployment among the youth who have finished colleges and universities and decided to support students who are ready to join technical institutions.
Shiekh said it is unfortunate that local youth are yet to fully accept technical skills which are favourable for the labour market. As a result, he said the county has to outsource skills from other counties.
“We have always said that there is a ready job market when one is equipped with the technical skills. That is where we have a shortfall that needs to be filled urgently. We remain committed to empowering the youth and women for self sustainability,” he said.
Sheikh said the county will work with TVETS to ensure that they have course that have skills that are relevant to the job market.
“As a county, we are looking forward to coming up with cottage industries. we shall be relying on technical institutions to give us the manpower,” Sheikh said.
(Edited by P. Wanambisi)
