This archive report was first published on 25 July 2021.
Reviving Industrialization through Skilled Labor ¶
On July 18, 2021, Raila Odinga, the former Prime Minister of Kenya, emphasized the need for a sustained focus on industrialization and job creation in the country.
He noted that nations that have achieved industrialization have done so by paying attention to skilled laborers, such as mechanics, tailors, carpenters, hairdressers, and cooks, before graduating to high-tech aspects of industrialization.
Every two years since the 1950s, young people with exceptional skills have gathered in a city worldwide for the World Skills Competition, also known as the 'Skills Olympics.'
Developed nations like Japan, Canada, Germany, and Korea have taken their youths to this competition to showcase skills, starting with basic technical skills and progressing to machinery and manufacturing, computing, and information processing.
However, Kenya has done little to identify the passions of its youth and turn them into professions.
According to Odinga, Kenya needs to start sending its youths to the World Skills Competition, with the 46th edition scheduled to take place in Shanghai, China, in October next year.
He proposed the establishment of a permanent central Human Resources Development body to identify skilled youths, organize domestic skills competitions, and send them to compete with the world at the 'Skills Olympics.'
The body would also maintain a data bank on skilled youth, source support, and extend incentives to SMEs run by craftsmen and artisans to ensure their passions become professions, industries, and jobs for the nation.
Additionally, Odinga emphasized the need to recreate and mainstream vocational high schools, provide clear parallel education paths, and launch a concerted campaign against the societal mindset that devalues skilled manual workers.
He concluded by expressing his hope to see Kenyan youths at the Skills Olympics in Shanghai in October next year, which would be a significant step towards seeing 'MADE IN KENYA' products on supermarket shelves.
— Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, EGH
