The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a program that will connect youths to employers in a bid to combat unemployment in the country.
USAID’s Employment Pathways for Youth program will see young people get trained on skills that match current employer demands.
The program which was launched during the Kilifi County International Investment Conference 2024 at Vipingo Ridge, will see USAID support Technical Vocational Educational and Training institutions to curate short skills training courses that will match employer demands resulting in graduates with more marketable skills.
“When you invest in the youth and show you believe in them, they do amazing things, and that is the philosophy that underlines our new project which is investing in the youth and providing them with skills that, we have high confidence, will get them a job. Education is meant to provide you and your family with a future,” said USAID Mission Director David Gosney during the launch.
USAID’s Employment Pathways for Youth program targets 16,000 students in Kenyan TVET institutions in Mombasa, Kilifi, Machakos, and Nakuru counties, focusing on underserved youth populations, including women, those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and youth who did not complete secondary education.
“The program is designed to work with TVETs but from the very start identify private sector partners who are looking and cannot fill the amount of job opportunities they have. So we have spent the last, almost, year which industries, which partners to reach out to. We will be putting in a billion shillings to enable this sort of training and partnership. The program will run for five years” said the USAID Mission Director.
“Success will be if at least 11,000 of the 16,000 get a job after graduation. A job that will provide them with meaningful income, they can start their career journey and hopefully continue to grow over the years and decades to come,” he added.
The program is designed for young people who might not have a lot of opportunities, have not gone to university, or do not have time to do a TVET program or other training program taking multiple years.
“So it is a shorter time with minimal qualifications, basically just a desire to complete a course and make a commitment that is required to utilize that and get a job and continue to grow,” said Gosney.
During the launch, Corrinne Ngurukia Yamo, the USAID Deputy Chief of Party for the Employment Pathways for Youth project, said they will work with sectors that are promising in terms of giving the youths jobs.
“We have just completed a Labour Market Assessment, we are doing the analysis. We talked to companies in ICT, the textiles and apparel manufacturing sector, and the garment sectors here in Mombasa, Kilifi, and Nakuru. We also talked to employers in the pharmaceutical industry. Our analysis will tell us which sector to prioritize because they promise employment opportunities for many youths at entry level,” said Ngurukia.
“We also had an opportunity to speak with quite several TVETs across the counties, and most importantly we spoke to young people. They have given us their aspirations so we will integrate those even as we implement the program for the next five years,” she added.
Through the program, USAID will build the capacity of the TVETs they are going to work with to ensure that their programs are delivered in line with industry needs.
“We are going to support them to understand how to engage industry, design curriculum that speaks to industry needs, what programs they must have in place to ensure their alumni continue to get mentorship, psychosocial support, and any other support they need to grow them as individuals,” said Ngurukia.
The training will be done in partnership with the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) and other US Community colleges.
“They will bring their expertise in academia, what they have learned in USIU and Edison College level that they can bring down to the TVET level so that our TVETs can also do the same. That means training faculty as well as training the administration around the TVET that will help them thrive to be able to deliver industry-informed content for young people,” added Ngurukia.
