The KCB Foundation has signed a partnership with the Meru County Government to facilitate training of 400 youth under the GIZ E4D program over the next 2 years. Under the agreement, for every youth KCB Foundation sponsors for technical training, the County Government of Meru will match and sponsor a youth.
The training will be provided through KCB Foundation’s 2jiajiri program which focuses on youth skills development and job creation through enterprise development.
The deal is part of a project by the German Development Cooperation to increase the employability and income generation of 3,500 Kenyan youth in the construction sector.
Cumulatively, the partnership between KCB Foundation and GIZ puts together Ksh. 300 million to provide technical and vocational skills training for the next three years. The funds will also support the provision of construction toolkits to 700 youth, to enable them to establish business enterprises in the construction sector.
The partnership has been extended under the Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) program commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ, and KCB Foundation’s 2jiajiri Program.
The program targets a total of 60% male trainees and 40% female trainees, with a bias towards unskilled individuals previously working in the construction sector. The youth will be trained in masonry and brickwork, carpentry and joinery, plumbing and pipe work, electrical installation and welding and metalwork.
Previously, the 2jiajiri programme in partnership with E4D programme trained a total of 4,000 youth across seven counties from 2017-2019, in the subsectors of construction and agriculture. 580 youth from the construction cohort received toolkits from Bosch, under the partnership.
Speaking on the partnership, Meru County Governor H.E. Kiraitu Murungi said, “The problem of youths is not only that they are unemployed, but that many of them are unemployable because they lack the right skills.”
On her part, KCB Foundation Acting Chief of Party Caroline Wanjeri said, “We believe in the potential of our youths, and they are the majority in our population. Unfortunately, the biggest group of unemployed people are also the youths.”