Nyeri — The government is strengthening technical and vocational education to enhance the country's capacity to offer practical training, President William Ruto has said.
The objective is to use the power of technical vocational education and training (TVET) to push the potential of young people to positively contribute to economic growth.
He pointed out that the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) was designed to accelerate economic growth by investing in critical pillars that create employment for millions of skilled youth.
"As we implement policies, programmes and projects which create jobs for the youth, we must simultaneously equip millions of young Kenyans with the education, training and skills necessary to enhance their productivity in a dynamic, globalised and competitive labour market," he said.
He made the remarks on Tuesday during the centenary celebrations of TVET in Kenya at the Nyeri National Polytechnic.
Present were Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, MPs and MCAs
The President said the government is keen on ensuring that every constituency has a TVET college in the next two years.
"We have 24 national polytechnics across the country, 13 of which were recently upgraded, and 272 technical and vocational colleges, with 16 scheduled to be completed in the 2024/2025 financial year," he said.
This financial year, the government has allocated KSh28.3 billion to TVET institutions.
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"We intend to keep raising the budgetary allocation in future until we achieve an optimal level of investment," he said.
The government is also recruiting 2,000 TVET tutors, with the goal of increasing the total number to 4,000.
The President announced that China has approved KSh13 billion for Kenya to support 70 TVET institutions with state-of-the-art equipment.
"We are serious about introducing our youth to the best skills, knowledge and technology in the world," the President said.
On ICT hubs being built in the country's 1,450 wards and TVET institutions across the country, President Ruto said the training is equipping the youth with the necessary skills that offer young people new opportunities online.
President Ruto said: "We want to make sure that we use the digital space and our talented youth to drive our economy through digital jobs."
He said the government has signed 19 bilateral labour agreements with 19 countries to expand opportunities for Kenyans.
The Head of State said the government is committed to fighting alcoholism and drug abuse which, he said, impedes the country's growth.
Governor Kahiga said investing in technical education and training nurtures an efficient and effective workforce crucial for implementing government initiatives.
"We want people with skills so that as we implement programmes such as affordable housing, we have a skilled workforce to do the job," he said.
CS Machogu said TVET has produced Kenyans who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the country's development agenda.
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