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100 Isiolo youths get scholarships to pursue vocational courses

Some of the beneficiaries undergo training at Uhuru Vocational Training Centre in Burat ward, Isiolo County. Photo/Waweru Wairimu

By Waweru Wairimu | Thursday, May 16, 2024

Among the courses that the youths will pursue which will take between 6-12 months are tailoring, masonry, welding, plumbing, mechanical and electrical engineering, dressmaking, driving, and carpentry.

Some 100 youths from vulnerable families with little or no formal education in Isiolo County have benefited from a scholarship to undertake vocational training for economic empowerment.

The initiative seeks to equip with skills for employment, young people from poor families, and those living with disability and with no stable source of income and is part of the Sh179 million Wezesha Vijana programme aimed at addressing youth unemployment in Isiolo, Marsabit, and Nairobi counties.

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Among the courses that the youths will pursue which will take between 6-12 months are tailoring, masonry, welding, plumbing, mechanical and electrical engineering, dressmaking, driving, and carpentry.

Levis Mutethia, a beneficiary from Kiwanjani in Wabera ward who is living with a disability, termed the scholarship timely, saying a driving course was a boost to his future ambition of starting a travel agency.

"With this skill, I will be able to start even with a hired vehicle and take tourists to various destination sites which will transform my life," he said, lamenting that PWDs are locked out of such opportunities in most cases.

Other beneficiaries Fardosa Abduba and Francis Etelej were elated to land an opportunity to pursue a food and beverages course.

"I completed Form Four years ago but due to poverty at home, I could not proceed to college. I will now be able to achieve my dream of pursuing a catering course," Etelej said during the launch of the scholarship at Uhuru Vocational Training Centre.

County Education Executive Aileen Kajuju implored youths in the county to take up technical courses to acquire hands-on skills that would help them start their businesses and shun over-reliance on white-collar jobs.

Being in school, she said, will enable the youths to stay away from crime, drugs, and substance abuse.

Kajuju said the county government was committed to setting up vocational centres across all the 10 wards and announced that the fifth one in Kinna is nearing completion.

"There is a huge demand for artisans locally and with the skills, they will be able to benefit as the majority of the people will stop sourcing the services in other counties," she said.

The Wezesha Vijana programme will also equip the youth with digital skills to enable them to seize online opportunities and support apprenticeship programmes for hundreds of others in remote areas.