Come up with innovations, technical students urged

TVET Principal Secretary Kevit Desal and Tiaty MP William Kamket (right) during a site visit at North Rift Technical Institute.

Technical college students have been urged to use their skills to come up with innovations that will benefit their career path.

Baringo County Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Elisha Kiplagat said with the number of university graduates increasing every year, demand for employment was rising.

He said there was need for graduates to equip themselves with marketable skills to fit in the job market or create employment opportunities.

Mr Kiplagat said there is a growing demand from the labour market for a high level of skills and competencies for a modern, globally competitive and knowledge-based economy.

He spoke during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between KNCCI and Baringo Technical College.

In the MoU, KNCCI Baringo chapter will award the best innovative student on farm tools a cash price of Sh20,000 starting this year.

Industrial attachment

“We as the chamber of commerce of Baringo are ready to help these students get industrial attachment and employment,” said Kiplagat.  

He recalled how in March 2017, then Education CS Fred Matiang’i attributed low employment rates among Kenyan graduates to failing education standards in public universities, citing the mismatch between knowledge, skills and competencies required in the market and what the universities offer among reasons employers shun Kenyan graduates.

However, the country seems to be rectifying this by rolling out the Competency-Based Curriculum, which is designed to emphasise on developing skills and knowledge and applying them to real life situations.

In August last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the government is implementing the CBC to keep up with the fast-changing world characterised by remarkable advances in science and technology, particularly in information, communication and computing.

The millennials add up to 10.1 million out of Kenya’s population of 49.7 million, data from US-based Population Reference Bureau (PRB) shows.

The economy of Baringo County is mainly agri-based, and it prides itself as one of the tourist destinations, with major attraction cites like Lake Bogoria, Baringo, Kapnorok and many conservancies.