Kepsa Launches The Life Skills Training For Youth As The Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (Kyep) Kicks Off
KEPSA, through the Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (KYEP), supported by the Government of Kenya and the World Bank, has officially launched the Life Skills training for the 1350 randomly selected youth to take part in the training and internship programme. This follows an announcement that was made in the month of October last year that attracted 9,307 applications. The number of eligible applications totaled 5,583.
Unemployed youth are being given a chance to gain skills in their preferred sectors of employment including Energy, Finance, ICT, Tourism, Manufacturing and the Informal Micro and Small Enterprise sectors - in line with Vision 2030. So far, KEPSA has received approximately 1,800 offers from the private sector to take up the interns. Each intern will receive a stipend of Kshs 6000 per month for the 6 months and each employer will receive Kshs. 3,000, as they will be responsible for supervision, reporting and performance management.
This first phase, which is the Life Skills training, has already commenced in Nairobi and this will be replicated in Mombasa and a third location in due course. Each internship phase will take 6 months and the plan is to have a total of 8 phases over the next four years. The aim of the Life Skills training is to introduce a competitive element whereby youth who do not demonstrate a certain level of seriousness and commitment to the program will be dropped. Additional training will include core business domains, and training specific to the sector they are placed in. In overall, a total of 11,000 youth will have been given internship and training opportunities at the end of the four year project.
The youth who have been selected will undergo the Life Skills Training for two weeks; where after 900 youth will be selected to take up the internship positions. This reduction to 900 youth is to test the motivation and enthusiasm of the youth so that only focused individuals receive an internship. Those who do not make it after the life skills training will unfortunately not be given another chance to apply. It is however hoped that the life skills learnt will help these youth in their future endeavours; as modules of the training will include CV writing and presenting oneself during interviews.
The list of the randomly selected youth for the Life Skills training has already been posted to the websites of KEPSA, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS). This list will also be distributed to all the nine District Youth offices in Nairobi.
The chief guest during the launch was the Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Hon. Dr. Paul Otuoma.
In attendance were representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister, KEPSA membership and the World Bank.
Notes:
Eligibility criteria as highlighted in the announcement:
- Must be aged between 15 and 29 years;
- Must have a minimum of 8 years of schooling;
- Must have been out of school for at least 1 year;
- Currently not working; and
- Be a Kenyan citizen
Reasons for ineligibility were therefore:
- Applicants who are still in school/college
- Applicants who have been out of school/college for less than 1 year
- Applicants who were outside the age of 15 – 29 years
- Applicants who are currently in work
Summary
Kenya Youth Empowerment Project is a four years Kenya Government Project funded by World Bank. The project aims at supporting the Government of Kenya (GoK) efforts to increase access to youth-targeted temporary employment programs and to improve youth employability through private sector trainings and internships. The project has three components and is coordinated by the Office of Prime Minister.
Component 1 is Labor-intensive works and social services (US$ 43 million equivalent). This component is to support the GoK in reducing the vulnerability of unemployed young women and men by expanding and enhancing the effectiveness of the Kazi Kwa Vijana (KKV) program. The component finances labor-intensive projects that provide income opportunities to participating youth, and at the same time, enhance the communities’ access to social and economic infrastructure.
Component 2 is Private Sector Internships and Training (US$ 15.5 million equivalent). This component is to improve youth employability, by providing youth with work experience and skills through the creation of internships and relevant training in the formal and informal sector (with priority given to the five growth sectors defined by the Vision 2030). This component is a pilot that addresses the lack of skills and work experience for unemployed young women and men.
Component 3 is Capacity Building and Policy Development (US$ 1.5 million equivalent). The main objective of this component is to enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) to implement the national youth policy and increase the institutional capacity for youth policy planning.
Ehud Gachugu
Project Director – KEPSA - KYEP
