Permanent Secretary for Youth Affairs and the Creative Economy, Fikirini Jacobs, has said the government is implementing a raft of programmes aimed at reducing youth unemployment by equipping the young people with market-driven skills, expanding internship opportunities, supporting entrepreneurship and opening up overseas job markets.
Speaking during the National Amani Youth Summit held at the Moi University School of Law Annex Campus in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, the PS said unemployment remains a major concern among Kenyan youth but noted that the government is addressing the challenge through practical interventions designed to create sustainable livelihoods.
He said the country is deliberately shifting towards technical and vocational education to bridge the skills gap and support industrialisation.
“For far too long, we have had about one million university students and only about 20,000 students in our technical institutions. That imbalance has contributed to the unemployment crisis because the economy needs more technical skills,” the PS said.
The PS noted that enrolment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions has now risen to about 900,000 students, describing the growth as a significant milestone in preparing young people for self-employment and the country’s industrial transformation.
He urged young people to embrace technical training and entrepreneurship, saying practical skills would create businesses capable of employing others rather than increasing the number of job seekers.
“You are not graded by how many A’s or B’s you have. You are graded by how well you can fix a machine. That means you can create an enterprise that will employ others,” he said.
The PS said the government has rolled out several youth empowerment initiatives, including internship programmes, labour mobility opportunities, enterprise grants, the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme and apprenticeship schemes to improve employability.
He noted that more than 121,000 young people have already benefited from NYOTA grants, while another 90,000 youth are undergoing apprenticeship training under the programme’s master craftsperson model to equip them with hands-on skills for employment and self-employment.
He added that thousands of young people are already benefiting from government-funded initiatives, including the Climate Works Programme targeting 200,000 youth across the country and the Nairobi River Regeneration Project, which has employed about 45,000 young people.
The PS also called on eligible youth to take advantage of the available opportunities through transparent government recruitment processes, saying programmes are designed to ensure inclusion and equal access.
“Internship, labour mobility, enterprise through grants, national stimulus funds, women groups, youth groups and several other projects are all opportunities available for young people. I invite you to take advantage of them,” he said.
He further proposed that one per cent of projects financed through the proposed National Infrastructure Fund be set aside as mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to support youth development in host communities.
The PS reaffirmed the government’s commitment to involving young people in policy formulation and implementation, saying youth participation remains critical to addressing unemployment and accelerating Kenya’s economic growth.
By Fredrick Maritim
