Safaricom Foundation has officially opened a new and improved ICT enabled skills center at the Waithaka Vocational Training Centre in Nairobi.

The institution was refurbished at a cost of KES 28 million including equipping the computer lab with modern ICT equipment as well as placing modern tools in the Plumbing, Welding, Electrical Engineering and the Food and Beverage departments

The launch of the refurbished institution is part of the foundation’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme focusing on Plumbing, Welding, Food and Beverage and Electrical Engineering. The other component of the programme includes providing scholarships to over 700 students across various TVET institutions in the country.

“It is not enough to just tell young people to enroll in TVET courses or showing them that such qualifications lead to good career paths; we must also put in the work to ensure that they are getting the best out of it by investing in quality TVET centres. At Safaricom, we are leading the way and calling on all other stakeholders to join us in this endeavour”, said Steve Chege, Trustee, Safaricom Foundation.

The centre in Waithaka will see 200 students supported over the next two years with the remaining 500 spread across 11 other institutions.

The first batch comprising of 350 students were also officially commissioned with Waithaka Training Centre admitting its initial 100 scholars. The students will not only receive fully paid scholarships, but the Foundation will also work with other partners to place them in jobs after their training.

An analysis by the Higher Education Loans Board shows that employability is at 96 % for people with Technical and Vocational Education and Training compared to 40 per cent among those with a university degree. However, TVET participation remains low with enrolment standing at only 60 %.