This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
On July 15, 2020, the world celebrated World Youth Skills Day (WYSD), a day invented by the United Nations to raise awareness about the importance of technical and vocational education and training in our lives and economies.
However, the commemoration of WYSD 2020 took place in a challenging context. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures led to the closure of TVET institutions worldwide, disrupting the learning and training of over 430,000 TVET trainees in Kenya.
With the Ministry of Education planning to reopen TVET institutions in September 2020, Zack Kinuthia, the Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Education, expressed optimism about the measures being put in place to curb the spread of the virus.
Horst Bauernfeind, Programme Manager of the Promotion of Youth Employment and Vocational Training programme at GIZ, emphasized the need for stronger collaboration between technical training institutions and the industry to equip youth with impeccable skills.
GIZ is piloting the cooperative (or dual) vocational training model, which encourages stronger collaboration between TTIs and private sector companies. Through this model, students will spend 50% of their time in TTIs and the remaining 50% in an actual work environment.
German Financial Cooperation via KfW supports these pilot institutes with new workshops and training equipment, making the practical training a hands-on experience. The financial and technical cooperation for the first phase is approximately $28.4 Million in total.
