Garissa Township MP
Dekow Mohamed speaking at the event./STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Garissa County Commissioner Mohamed Mwabudzo./STEPHEN ASTARIKOYoung people across the country have been urged to embrace Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a practical route to employment and self-reliance.
Principal Secretary for Youth Affairs, Fikirini Jacobs, said technical education holds the key to creating opportunities in the job market for millions of Kenyans graduating each year.
He spoke on Saturday during the closing ceremony of the two-day Garissa Youth Summit held at Garissa University.
Despite significant investment by both the national and county governments in technical training institutes across the Northeastern region, enrollment numbers remain low. This, officials say, stems from a persistent community mindset that places university education above vocational skills.
“There has been social wiring that university education is more important,” said the PS. “But with dwindling employment opportunities for white-collar jobs, it is time we embrace technical skills, whose job market is readily available.”
Jacobs noted that for too long, the country has prioritised “managerial” university education and given undue emphasis to so-called white-collar jobs perceived as more prestigious by the youth.
“As one of the young people who has had the opportunity to serve at this stage of my life, I want to urge fellow youth to embrace technical education,” he said. “We have approximately 1.6 million graduates entering the job market every year. These graduates deserve opportunities, but for such opportunities to exist, we must create demand—and that demand comes from technical education.”
He said the government is deliberate in its efforts to strengthen the TVET sector, which is why President William Ruto created a fully-fledged State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
Jacobs added that several government initiatives—including the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA), Jitume Programme, and Climate Worx—are designed to empower young people with skills and employment opportunities. He encouraged the youth to take full advantage of these programmes.
Garissa Township MP Dekow Mohamed, who also addressed the summit, echoed the PS’s sentiments. He urged young people in Garissa to enrol in local technical and vocational colleges to gain practical skills and certification.
“We have encouraged our young people in Garissa County to embrace technical skills from local technical colleges so that they can be ready for industry absorption. We want to shift from white-collar jobs to skill-based training,” Dekow said.
He also challenged young Kenyans to venture into innovation, digital entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence (AI) — areas he said represent the future of work.
“We have about eight million young Kenyans who went to school at various levels but are unable to secure meaningful employment. This is because many of them are not exposed or advised on which careers to pursue,” he said.
Both leaders agreed that reorienting youth towards technical and digital skills is essential if Kenya is to tackle unemployment and build a generation of self-reliant, innovative young professionals.
