4,000 youth get technical training

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About 4,000 Kenyan youth yesterday graduated from Generation Kenya with new skills to help them find and keep employment in high growth sectors. 

Generation Kenya is a public-private programme supported by the US government through its development agency, USAID in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, Swedish International Development Agency and Safaricom Foundation. 

The graduation was held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre and presided over by Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya.

“Programmes such as Generation Kenya will help boost (small enterprises) by providing the necessary skill set as SMEs are the biggest employers for the youth. The Government is working hard to continue to create the right environment to nurture such talents,” said Mr Munya.

USAID Mission Director Mark Meassick and Generation Kenya CEO Ramakrishnan Hariharan also attended the ceremony.

“The US government investments in youth are vital to our mission of promoting self-reliance and resilience among our partner countries, as well as to the goals of worldwide stability and prosperity that we all share,” said Mr Meassick.

The programme works closely with the Government and institutions in Technical and Vocational Education and Trainings to equip youth with employability skills. 

Since 2015, Generation Kenya has placed 84 per cent of the 13,000 graduates into meaningful employment through a network of more than 350 employer partners across Kenya. 

The youth attend 4-8 weeks of boot camp training in banking, financial sales, sewing machine operation, restaurant services, retail, and consumer goods distribution.  

Generation Kenya has grown from one training location in Nairobi in 2015 to 33 across 20 counties.