• Uhuru revealed the goals of the initiative resonate with those of his administration manifested though the Big Four Agenda.
•He said the agenda has already offered many employment opportunities in agriculture, housing, health and manufacturing industries.
Image: PSCU
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday spearheaded the launch of General Unlimited partnership (GenU) in Kenya.
GenU is a global partnership meant to empower youth between the age of 10 and 24 through education, training, employment and engagement.
During the virtual launch live streamed on Facebook, Uhuru said the programme will give youth in Kenya unlimited opportunity to transform the society.
He noted that the initiative rightly recognises that the youth agenda is the defining agenda of this time.
"Indeed three quarters of our people in the Kenya are under the age of 35. The GenU goal is to ensure that every person between the ages of 10 and 24 is either in school, in training or in employment and all this by the year 2030.
Uhuru revealed the goals of the initiative resonate with those of his administration manifested though the Big Four Agenda.
He said the agenda has already offered many employment opportunities in agriculture, housing, health and manufacturing industries.
He encouraged youth to create groups and startup companies that can be granted responsibilities through the various programmes to be created through GenU.
Uhuru who was appointed General Unlimited Partnership global head in 2018 said the initiative is a great opportunity to attract investors from the global market to Kenya to support the youth.
He acknowledged that the state of unemployment has been made worse by Covid-19 pandemic which has limited Kenyans from accessing sustainable work.
"It is for this reason that I welcome GenU as a platform which will enable leaders, partners and stakeholders to make investments that will unlock the potential of Kenyan youth and the youth world over," he said.
"Our youth are our nation greatest resource and have the potential to expand Kenya's and Africa;s productive workforce and turn our continent into a frontier of growth, innovation and opportunities."
He said some of the government's investment in the youth in the country has already borne fruit through projects such as Kazi Mtaani and Ajira digital programme.
Uhuru noted that the country's quality of education continues to be comparatively higher compared to peer countries, giving confidence that Kenya's labour force will be competitive in the global market.
He said the education sector will continue to receive the lion's share of the national budget. For the financial year 2020/21, the sector was allocated 25 per cent of the national cake.
"Today, all children have access to free primary school education and transition to secondary education is at a 100 per cent. Further, we have made reforms in our education system making technical education and vocational training better aligned to the needs of our economy and more affordable to our people," he said.
In the spirit of creating more job opportunities, the head of State said he plans to appoint more youth in his government as CASs.