Deputy President wants more youths to enroll for technical training to bridge the skills gap that Kenya is facing today.
He said the country was lagging behind in terms of development due to the skewed appetite for university education at the expense of the technical colleges.
Ruto noted that for Kenya’s grand dream of food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare to be realised, men and women must be equipped with the right skills.
“Competency-based training is what this country has lacked for long. Technical training colleges are going to address this,” he said in Uasin Gishu County on Saturday, during the launch of the Kesses Constituency Youth Technical Training Programme.
He stated that the trainers’ capacity would also be strengthened “so that the product quality is in tandem with the industry demands”.
“It is only a knowledgeable society that can contribute to the country’s development. By fixing more learners in technical colleges, we would be able to drive our development agenda,” he noted.
The Deputy President was accompanied by 32 Members of Parliament, among them Governors Jackson Mandago (Uasin Gishu), Patrick Khaemba (Trans-Nzoia), Women Representatives Esther Passaris (Nairobi), Rahab Mukami (Nyeri), Wangui Ngirici (Kirinyaga), Faith Wairimu Gitau (Nyandarua), Gladys Shollei (Uasin Gishu), Joyce Korir (Bomet) and Sabina Chege (Murang’a).
As part of the government’s plan to attract youths to technical training, Ruto said the government would offer loans and bursaries to learners.
“Youths are a critical ingredient of the Big Four agenda. In the last three years, we have set up 130 new colleges that can host 120,000 learners,” he said.
But to achieve the Big Four agenda, the Deputy President called on leaders to discard the politics of empty stories, unite and work together.
“We must reformat our thinking, too, to be in harmony with our development plans. We cannot be talking of the Big Four agenda while leaders are preaching the politics of division and tribalism,” he said.