Youth in Uasin Gishu have been encouraged to join Technical Vocational Education and Training institutions in order to acquire hands-on skills which would help them get self-employed or secure employment in various industries like beauty and therapy, hotel, building and construction among others.
This was said by the Eldoret Beauty Training College Director John Mwangi during the graduation ceremony of over 100 graduands of beauty therapy, hairdressing, make-up and nails and Event Management courses.
Mwangi emphasized the importance of enrolling in TVET institution saying they impart hands-on skills that enable graduands to be independent because one could set up his or own business instead of seeking white collar jobs which are rare to get.
“I urge parents if they have any children that have not proceeded further after secondary school, let them come to TVET and acquire skills to earn a living in the job market. This will help us ease this burden of unemployment,” he noted.
Mwangi explained that studying in TVET is not for failures as per the old narrative, noting that some of their graduates are even A students, who have understood the secret of acquiring hands-on skills for self-employment.
“It is not about age or gender. Beauty work can be done by anyone be it youth, men or women. Anyone can work in this beauty industry. So let us change the narrative and do hands-on jobs. Apart from beauty, you can do any other job that can create employment,” alluded Director Mwangi.
Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor Evans Kapkea commended the institution for its role and contribution to TVET sector through providing education and training on hand-on skills and knowledge to the youth in order to create employment.
“Help our youth to join TVET to study courses in hairdressing, beauty therapy, cosmetology among others. I want to tell our youth that this is a very serious profession which you must embrace and take seriously,” observed DG Kapkea.
While emphasizing the president’s passion and support for TVET institutions, a cornerstone of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) through adequate budgetary allocation to ensure youth gain requisite skills, Kapkea encouraged the youth to turn out and enroll in these TVET colleges in order to contribute to the development of the country large.
He affirmed the county’s commitment to support vocational training by investing sufficient resources in all the 13 vocational colleges in Uasin Gishu to make them centres of excellence
“We have made Sergoit VTC a centre of excellence in food processing. We have also made other VTCs centres of excellence in building, garments and much more,” he said.
The DG appealed to the youth to take full advantage of national and county sponsorship programmes to join the TVET institutions to gain knowledge and skills key to gaining employment.
“The youth should not give excuses of not joining due to fees challenge because the national government offers HELB loan for TVETs and Vocational Training Centres (VTCs). The county government also offers scholarships,” advised Kapkea.
The DG acknowledged the challenge of unemployment as he implored the youth to be innovative and focus on creating self-employment and also employing others when the venture grows.
Kapkea recalled that last year, the county advertised 428 job positions and more than 38,000 people made applications, a scenario which signifies the overwhelming problem of unemployment in the country.
“We call upon the youth to join TVET institutions and enroll in courses like building, catering, beauty and others. Eldoret is a growing city, and you cannot miss a barber shop, salon, hotel, construction and many more. I can assure you that you cannot fail to find a job in these areas,” noted the Governor.
On his part, Huruma Ward MCA Kimani Wanjohi asked the youth to embrace the dynamics of the job market and grab the trending job skills like beauty and cosmetology in order to be better placed in terms of employment.
“Beauty and fashion have come in handy these days. People earn a lot of money to support their daily needs. The world is changing. The youth must not wait to be employed but should rather seek avenues to employ themselves and at the same time create employment for others,” noted the MCA Wanjohi.
Youth graduands from across Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and other parts of the country expressed joy after excelling in various courses offered at Eldoret Beauty College.
“I studied this beauty therapy course for like seven months. When I finished form four, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. And then I got a friend of mine who referred me to this school. Actually, I did it with passion and I’m currently working as a therapist in a very high-end company,” Monica Wanjiru, graduate of Eldoret Beauty College.
She called on other youth who may not have known what to pursue after secondary school to consider joining the TVET institutions and take up courses that would earn them skills to be employed or even set up their own businesses as a form of self-employment.
“If you fail in your exams, that is not the end of life. Come here let us do beauty. Let us do what we are going to do and do it with passion and love and we shall prosper in life,” she added.
On his part, Abinad Kiptum Kibiwot, a resident from lower Baringo and a graduate of beauty, encouraged other youth from marginalized areas to join TVETs in order to acquire hands-on skills to gain employment.
He noted that beauty work can be done by any gender be it male or female as he urged all unemployed youth to consider learning a skill besides having other high end professional qualifications yet remain unemployed.
“Having come from marginalized areas where our parents may not be able to raise enough fees to send us to higher institutions of learning, sometimes we have to do something that we have to do out of passion and love. For me now, I will continue opening up more beauty parlors in the interior part of Baringo and make my clients shine,” noted Kibiwot.
“Sometimes you might not be perfect, but our nails can be, our beauty can be, so welcome and join our beauty college,” said a youthful graduate with joy on his face.
By Ekuwam Sylvester
