78 young women from Nairobi and Kiambu Counties have graduated from the PEPFAR/USAID-supported DREAMS Construction Skills Training program. The young women have completed plumbing and electrical skills training conducted by accredited institutions at the Project Safe spaces. The women are part of 427 graduates from the program to date who have benefitted from the program.
All the program graduates have received accreditation to practice by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) and the National Construction Authority (NCA). 84% of them have already secured jobs or started their own businesses, showing the program’s transformative impact in job creation and economic empowerment for Kenyan youth.
The DREAMS Construction Skills Training program is funded by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through USAID’s Tumikia Mtoto project. The initiative, jointly implemented by World Vision Kenya and the Family Group Foundation, provides young women aged 18-24 with six months of hands-on training that equips them with job market skills for the construction industry. The initiative also addresses the vulnerabilities that young women face, including the risk of HIV, gender-based violence, and economic instability.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony of 78 graduates, Principal Secretary, State Department of Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs, Hon. Joseph Motari, said, “The percentage of women who work in the construction sector as artisans in Kenya stands at a measly 3 percent. The government appreciates programmes geared towards the welfare and rights of women and children from all social environments, as well as establishing mitigation measures to assist women and children in emerging situations and poverty.”
Dr. David Githanga, Board Chair of World Vision Kenya, said, “Our vision is simple yet profound, to see every child experience life in all its fullness, and for every heart to possess the will to make it so. Despite advancements in the construction industry, the statistics remain staggering. Research shows that only three percent of construction artisans in Kenya are female, 15.5 percent of contractors, and 17 percent of quantity surveyors. This under-representation of women in the industry is troubling, given construction’s critical role in job creation.”