Safaricom TVET programme to begin online next week

At least 300 students are scheduled to benefit as Safaricom Foundation initiates technical and vocational education and training online.

The online classes will assist shortlisted students of Safaricom Foundation TVET scholarship programme and are set to begin on Monday, June 22, 2020.

The Safaricom Foundation has partnered with Zizi Afrique Foundation and ToolKit iSkills, a social enterprise organisation, to roll out the programme, with a focus on plumbing, welding, food and beverage and electrical engineering.

In a press release issued on Thursday, Safaricom Foundation trustee Steve Chege said the company wanted to empower the shortlisted students so learning has to commence even as the country fights Covid-19.

“The students who have been enrolled for the programme have not been able to attend classes because of the partial lockdown and we want to enable them to begin classes via online platforms,” Chege said.

In addition, the Safaricom Foundation has donated smartphones to enable the students to access e-learning materials. More than 70 students who do not have access to smartphones will receive free devices to enable them to access eLearning materials as they await the reopening of learning institutions.

The Safaricom Foundation’s TVET programme was launched in March 2020. It will see an ICT enabled skills centre set up in Nairobi’s Waithaka Vocational Training Centre.

The Sh130 million investment aims to reach 1,000 students who will receive TVET scholarships over the next two years across various institutions.

“Through this scholarship programme, we want to reach some of the most vulnerable youth from across the country and give them access to training opportunities in employable areas, and increase transition to employment,” said Renaldah Mjomba from Zizi Afrique.

The foundation will also sponsor 200 students at the centre to undergo training and later place them in jobs.

Eleven other institutions have also been identified, one each in Nairobi, Marsabit, West Pokot, Mandera, Isiolo, Kwale, Narok, Kirinyaga, Kitui, Kisumu and Vihiga, where they target more than 500 beneficiaries.  

The initiative came at a time analysis by the Higher Education Loans Board shows that employability is at 96 per cent for people with technical and vocational education and training, compared to 40 per cent for those with university degrees.

The TVET centres will provide best practice in skills training, effectively addressing emerging skill gaps, aligning training with industry needs and engaging industry, government and corporates for a holistic skills ecosystem.