Residents of Igembe North Sub County, Meru County, have been urged to embrace Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions as a pathway to employment, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment.
Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation CS Eng. Eric Mugaa noted that parents sacrifice immensely in educating their children through TVETs, adding the efforts were worthwhile as skilled graduates were the future employers and innovators.
Mugaa encouraged residents to enroll in technical institutions and urged artisans and skilled workers to take advantage of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme to obtain nationally recognised qualifications.
The CS was speaking during the inaugural graduation ceremony at Kaelo Technical and Vocational Training College in Meru County.
He challenged trainees to fully utilize the institution’s modern facilities, including a well-equipped computer laboratory, warning that underutilized amenities could be reassigned to other institutions.
The college 463 graduands who studied between 2018 and 2026 received various awards, including Diploma, Certificate and Artisanry across various technical and vocational fields.
On her part, Technical, Vocational Education and Training PS Dr. Esther Muoria urged the graduates to translate their well-acquired competence into productivity to not only benefit them but also the society and the nation at large.
Dr. Muoria said the government had invested heavily in TVET institutions, revealing that equipment worth Sh13 billion has been supplied to the institutions countrywide.
The PS urged technical institutions to maximize their training potentials by offering courses that reflect and satisfy job market.
“Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions must move beyond enrolling and graduating students to ensuring that trainees acquire skills that respond to industry needs and enable them to earn a living,” she said.
The PS said TVET institutions should be intentional in designing training programmes, arguing that institutions must first understand the needs of industry and then equip young people with skills that match those needs.
Dr. Muoria said TVET institutions should be intentional in designing training programmes, arguing that institutions must first understand the needs of industry and then equip young people with skills that match those needs.
The PS cited the production of items such as hinges and stays, which she said could be supplied to the affordable housing programme, as an example of how TVET workshops could become centres of production, innovation and enterprise.
“I challenge Kaelo TVC therefore to make optimal use of the equipment they have to benefit learners and make money out of it. Workshops should be solving problems,” she said.
Dr. Muoria said the government was also seeking to expand opportunities for TVET graduates to access employment locally and abroad.
She revealed that a dedicated TVET recruitment team had already recruited 37 graduates from Kaelo TVC for employment opportunities abroad through government-supported labor mobility programmes.
The PS added that the government had partnered with Consolidated Bank of Kenya to facilitate access to financing for young people seeking employment opportunities abroad, with beneficiaries expected to repay the loans later.
Dr. Muoria cautioned the youths against falling prey to unrecognized overseas recruitment agents, who are out to fleece them of money and instead seek jobs abroad through official government channels to avoid being conned.
The College Principal, Joseph Kimathi Ntong’ondu, said the institution had received 800 new trainees during the September intake through mobilization efforts led by the County Commissioner’s office.
He said the college currently has about 1,400 trainees and is targeting 3,000 learners by 2027.
The Principal added that Kaelo TVC had established an insurance-authority-registered garage in Laare to provide industrial attachment opportunities, with another garage set to be launched in Maua.
Meru County Commissioner, George Omolo pledged continued sensitisation campaigns to encourage more youths and parents to embrace technical training, saying TVETs were key in addressing youth unemployment through hands-on skills and self-employment.
Other leaders who spoke at the graduation ceremony emphasised that TVET education is a sure route for young people to seek practical skills, decent jobs, and opportunities both locally and internationally.
The ceremony was also attended by the Igembe North MP Julius Taitumu, former Igembe North MP and KEPHIS Chair, Joseph M’Eruaki, Meru County TVET Director Margrate Nduhiu, and other TVET Principals across the County.
By Dickson Mwiti and Kamanja Maeria and Brenda Gakii
