• The Labour CAS said Kenya produces about 1.2 million graduates every year but only 400,000 get absorbed in labour market while 800,000 remain jobless.
• Ole Ntutu said Kenyans need to embrace the culture of all kinds of learning for the country to move to the next level.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
Labour CAS Patrick Ole Ntutu has said employers should offer learning opportunities to their workers so that their skills don’t become obsolete in the job market.
Ole Ntutu said Kenyans need to embrace the culture of all kinds of learning for the country to move to the next level.
He said Kenya produces about 1.2 million graduates every year but only 400,000 get absorbed in labour market while 800,000 remain jobless.
“It’s therefore important to make sure that as many as possible of these graduates have employable skills. This way they will easily find opportunities in the labour market,” Ole Ntutu said.
“I call on employers to offer learning opportunities to their workers in cooperation with the government, training institutions and non-formal education providers. This way, our workforce will continue acquiring new skills as global market changes to ensure that their skills don’t become obsolete,” Ole Ntutu added.
He spoke during a National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) graduation ceremony at a Nairobi hotel on Tuesday. Ten officers graduated during the event.
The Industrial Training Officers [ITOs], drawn from the Authority’s Industrial Training Centres, undertook a Training of Trainer’s Programme led by Prof. Jonsik Won and Prof Laurentius Baek from KOICA.
Ole Ntutu said by creating linkages with industry suppliers, the trainers of trainers’ program will go long way in building the capacity of training institutions to effectively adopt the continuous evolution in the labour market in order to meet skills of tomorrow’s economy.
NITA director general Stephen Ogenga said the three - year KOICA-Kenya project funded to a tune of Sh400 million was aimed at supporting the authority capacity development wise both facility wise and human resource.
Ogenga said the program is aimed at ensuring that employers build a skilled and adaptable workforce through subsidized training and development.
It was also meant for equipping NITA centres with state–of–art technology.
He said the project was launched on May 21, 2018 by thenCabinet Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Hon. Amb. Ukur Yatani alongside then Korean Ambassador to Kenya Mr. Kwon Young Dae.
Ogenga said NITA Mombasa’s Automotive, Mechanical, Apparel Technology, Electrical, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning and Building Technology Sections all underwent extensive renovations that also saw the Centre receiving state-of-the-art equipment which were successfully installed.
The project was officially commissioned and handed over to the Authority on 29th November 2019.
Ole Ntutu presided over the graduation alongside the Korean Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Amb. Yeonghan Choi.
He said Kenya’s diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea have evolved from the year 1964, and the bond between the two countries has solidified, boosting bilateral trade to over $250 million.
The CAS said high-level interaction between the two countries had increased over the past five years, which has seen the two countries’ ties go beyond trade, into skills and knowledge transfer.
“I thank the Government of South Korea and KOICA for partnering with us and giving our trainers opportunity to learn from your country's best practices and technology, know how in the industrial and vocational training,” Ole Ntutu said.
The CAS added, “I also wish to appreciate the Korea Polytechnic which supported the project by providing high level technical input, UNOUS for playing critical role of project implementation and NITA’s board of directors, management and staff for the actualized transformation of vocational training in Kenya."
Ole Ntutu congratulated the graduates for their commitment of championing the course of quality industrial training.
He said with the quality training, it was his belief NITA will be in a position to achieve the target set for it 100,000 trainees annually.
Ole Ntutu said the Kenyan and South Korean governments had entered into a Framework arrangement whose purpose was to promote reduction of poverty and sustainable economic and social development of the Republic of Kenya through grant of aid.
This grant also provided for the Project for Capacity building for NITA through its NITA Mombasa Centre.
“For both the government of Korea and Kenya to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, target 4.4 “substantially increasing the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship by 2030” it is our responsibility to ensure that the youth get equitable access to industrial and TVET needs as well as ensuring their quality is not compromised and also there is skills acquisition where the youth are taught beyond work specific skills,” Choi said.