Plumbers and electricians in huge demand; training can plug the gap
Workers during the construction of the Makupa Bridge in Mombasa in May last year. Most firms reportedly experience architecture and construction labour shortages.
One of Kenya’s most puzzling contradictions is the persistence of youth unemployment even as some employers struggle to find qualified workers.
The number of Kenyans put out of work doubled over the decade leading up to 2022, World Bank data show, with the youth the hardest hit.
Last year, the Ministry of Labour launched an employment, skills and occupations survey that sought to close information gaps between the skills employers require and what the education sector offers.
A 2020 study found that, in the informal sector, which employs over 80 per cent of Kenyans, 55.9 per cent of the firms reported labour shortages in architecture and construction. Employers were unable to find the desired technical skills, such as plumbing, to fill vacancies.
Construction of buildings was the fourth-largest employing economic activity in the country behind the trade, education and land transport, the “Kenya Employment Outlook, 2019” shows. The workers in the sector need to have specific technical and practical knowledge and skills to perform their jobs.
Last week, private sector leaders from Switzerland and Kenya toured Don Bosco Technical Institute in Karen, Nairobi, to highlight a vocational training and apprenticeship programme that seeks to skill young women and men in the country for the job market.
Kenya’s Director of Administration in the State Department of TVET, Ms Joyce Mwale, and the visiting Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Ms Helene Budliger Artieda, led the delegation, signalling the focus the two governments are putting on linking skills training to employment.
Since last November, the institute has been training plumbers and electricians under a pilot programme supported by two Swiss institutions—Hilti Foundation and Geberit International Sales AG. The PropelA project is being implemented by Swisscontact.
The initiative is modelled on the Swiss dual learning approach, where training institutions and the private sector create a curriculum for technical training. It seeks to promote an employer-led dual apprenticeship system for the construction sector. Trainees spend 25 per cent of their time in class and 75 per cent gaining hands-on experience.
Representatives from vocational training institutions, private construction companies, and public agencies, specifically, the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), develop the curriculum in use.
Reduce training costs
They identified skill gaps, designed the model, and updated the curriculum which has been accredited by NITA. By supporting curriculum development and service testing, the project hopes to reduce the costs associated with training for employers while cushioning against the risks of introducing an innovation.
The first cohort in the programme has 62 male and 22 female apprentices. Having male and female plumbers in apprenticeship is a significant step towards disrupting gender norms. With only three per cent of Kenyan construction artisans women, deliberate programmes can increase the number of women with competitive skills for self-employment or decent work in construction.
In the project’s initial phase, 2022-2025, at least 1,000 young people will have received skills training and developed a long-term perspective for their lives with at least 300 of them having graduated while at least 700 being trained.
The project targets to have 70 leading Kenyan companies actively using the apprenticeship mechanism for recruitment, training and financing the education of apprentices, with 200 company coaches and assessors trained and 50 tutors in training institutes will have been prepared to deliver the dual apprenticeship programme.
Ultimately, the project’s goal is to make vocational training appealing to the youth while addressing unemployment and the shortage of technical skills in domestic and commercial sectors. Training not only increases relevant skills that can help youth secure decent work in safer workplaces but also increase their potential for higher income and thus improved livelihoods.
Ms Ndegwa is country director of Swisscontact. [email protected].
