State to examine 21 582 TVET candidates countrywide

Labour and Skills Development Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime during the launch of 483 trade testing series at Dzitsoni Vocational Training centre in Kilifi county on 10, April 2025. [Marion Kithi, Standard] The government has launched 483 trade testing centres to examine the competence of 21,582 candidates in the Technical Vocational Training and Education across the country. Labour and Skills Development Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime said the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) will assess the candidates. Mwadime said that the trade testing series would determine the level of competence of the students for certification and entry into employment. The PS said the testing series is 90 percent practical and 10 percent theoretical. He said those who are certified could seek overseas jobs or secure loans to start businesses. "We want to encourage our young people to go out and take these jobs because our economy is going to expand," he said. Mwadime also disclosed that the government is collecting at least Sh4 billion from millions of Kenyans working abroad annually. The PS said the government has signed human rights-based bilateral labour agreements to safeguard the rights of Kenyans working abroad, ''We have had a bilateral labour agreement with Qatar, Oman, and Doha for the last twenty years, and we have never had any challenges with them,'' he said. He admitted that some countries still face human rights challenges. In addition to signing labour agreements, they will also send labour attaches to countries where Kenyans work to help ensure fair pay and proper working conditions for Kenyans abroad. He warned unscrupulous recruiting agencies of harsh punishment if caught, emphasising that opportunities abroad should not become sources of misery and abuse for Kenyans. "We have deregistered 500 rogue agencies, and we are working with security agencies to deal with this issue once and for all," he said. The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) chairman, Aden Noor Ali, announced that NITA conducts trade tests three times a year - in April, August, and December. "Each year, we train around 150,000 people in 43 different skills, including plumbing, carpentry, electrical work, motor vehicle mechanics, and hair and beauty," Ali said. He encouraged the youth to take advantage of the tests and explore employment opprortunities abroad. "The certificates we issue are internationally recognised and come from the UK. We also recognise prior learning for those with hands-on experience but no formal education, "he added. Kaloleni MP Ken Chonga and the parliamentary labour committee have also urged young people to seize this opportunity. "We need to stop the perspective that village polytechnics are for failures because you can change your life through the grassroots courses," said Chonga. Chonga also stated that he has put on notice employers who pay low wages and do not comply with the employment of labour laws. He said most EPZs pay lower wages. "There are 42 vocational training centres in Kilifi, but 50 percent of them are not stable," said Kilifi executive member for education Franklin Kaingu. "The current supplementary budget includes 26 million for tools to be distributed equally among the VCT schools," he concluded.

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