More that 1,844 young people have graduated from the KCB 2Jiajiri youth skills programme. The graduates, drawn from 14 Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) centres across the county, marking a transformative milestone in the country’s vocational training and employment agenda.
The training is a result of partnership between KCB Foundation and Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Work’s programme.
The partnership aims to enable youths to access dignified work and increase income generation by skilling 8,500 youth in various economic sectors, targeting 70% women, leading to the creation of 43,000 jobs in the country.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony at the Nairobi University square, KCB Bank Kenya Managing Director Mrs. Annastacia Kimtai emphasized the bank’s commitment to addressing youth unemployment and unlocking their potential through technical vocational skills training.
“This is why as a bank, we pair this up with enterprise development training to equip our youth to set up their own enterprises in key economic sectors with high market demand,” she said.
During the event, which was attended by Hon. Salim Mvurya, the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Permanent Secretary, State Department of Sports, Elijah Mwangi, among other dignitaries, 738 business start-up toolkits were handed over to graduands to kickstart their entrepreneurial journey, marking a significant step in their quest to run successful business enterprises.
By focusing on enterprise development across key economic sectors, including agribusiness, construction, automotive engineering, beauty and personal care, and ICT, the 2Jiajiri programme seeks to unlock sustainable income opportunities and catalyze the creation of thousands of jobs across the country.
The project offers support in technical vocational education and training of vulnerable youth in short courses for six to nine months.
This is achieved through practical-oriented vocational training, life skills, work readiness training, and enterprise development skills necessary to drive employment opportunities and wealth creation.
Each training intake consists of six months of classroom and three months’ industrial attachment with practical training to address the skills gaps.
The trainees are then guided into employment opportunities once they complete their attachment, and those interested in establishing their micro-enterprises are supported by KCB’s Business Development Services (BDS), equipped with trade-specific toolkits and start-up working capital by KCB Bank through the Foundation.
So far, the 2Jiajiri programme has created over 179,822 jobs, with 40,063 youth receiving hands-on technical and vocational skills training in key industry sectors.
Also Read: 800 Youth Graduate from KCB’s 2Jiajiri Programme, Kicking Off New Paths in Entrepreneurship
To support their journey, KCB has disbursed KShs. 267 million in business startup loans and 2,225 startup toolkits issued to enable the young people deliver high-quality work across their respective trades
