Gideon Moi launches drive to offer youth special skills

Baringo Senator Gideon Moi (Third Right) handing over a Cheque worth sh 10 Million to Baringo Take Off programme (BTOP) chairman Richard Moindi (left) during the launch of the progamme at Kenya School of Gvoernment(GTI) in Kabarnet Baringo county on May 14,2016.

Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi has warned that youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb.

The Baringo Senator warned that thousands of Kenyan youth locked out of jobs annually are at risk of being used to commit crime and other illegal activities unless their grievances are urgently addressed.

Gideon was speaking yesterday at the Kenya School of Government in Baringo when he launched a programme dubbed Baringo County Take-off.

The programme, an initiative of the Senator, aims at transforming the fortunes of young people in the county. Several technical institutes will offer short courses to youth drawn from each location in Baringo.

“We have a youthful county but transition to higher institutions of learning is one of the lowest in the country. With the realisation that there is shortage of basic skills like plumbing, electricians, and carpentry in the county, my office has come up with the initiative,” Gideon said.

Under the programme, 300 students will be trained at the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology from August.

The Senator, who gave out a personal donation of Sh10 million to the kitty, said the programme will provide an opportunity to youth who fail to get tertiary education.

He urged the national and county governments to create an enabling environment for the young people.

“It is no longer a secret that thousands of unemployed youth in our country are stuck in no man’s land. These are people who either failed to proceed to form one or university and they should be assisted to earn a living,” he said.

Gideon, who was accompanied by Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi and Baringo Central MP Sammy Mwaita, lamented that several youths have missed out on lucrative job opportunities because of lack of specialised skills in specific fields.

He said Baringo will only succeed when its people are empowered with relevant skills to effectively exploit the enormous resources it is blessed with.

“The Geothermal Development Company (GDC) has pitched camp in Baringo and from recent reports, the potential is immense. Unfortunately, there are complaints that the county does not have enough manpower to support the thriving of this sector,” Gideon said.

He challenged the governor, MPs and MCAs to address unemployment among the county’s youth.

Cheboi welcomed the initiative and committed his administration’s support.

Mwaita lauded the initiative as transformative, saying generations to come will quote it as a turning point in their lives and those of their children.

Also present during the event was the initiative chairman and Sacho principal Richard Moindi.

The youth will be trained in electrical and electronics, hospitality and tourism, agriculture, mechanical engineering, computer studies, building and civil engineering and health applied sciences.