A total of 435 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) learners have graduated from all vocational Technical Centers VTCs across Mandera County. The 435 learners pursued courses in welding and fabrication, motor vehicle mechanics, dressmaking, electrical wiring and carpentry. Yussuf Mohamed, Regional Director for TVETs challenged the graduates to use their skills in creating job opportunities instead of becoming job seekers. He added that the government shall establish Vocational Training centres in all sub counties in Mandera. ‘We are planning to set up in every Sub county one vocational TVET to equip all of our youth,’ said Yussuf. Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif said that his government would allocate Sh30 million to finance both the recurrent and development expenses of the VTCs in the area for the 2022/2023 financial year. ‘These centres have played a crucial role in providing quality education and skills training to our youth, who have become successful entrepreneurs, professionals, and leaders in their own right,’ he added. Mandera county government in partnership with the national government, has employed a co-financial approach to improve the infrastructure and cover the operational costs for all the vocational training centers. A graduate from Elwak Vocational Training Centre Mohamed Amin urged the other youth outside to join the VTCs as it would help gain skills and have a starting point to self-employment. Those who graduated from all the 7 VTCs will be given start-up kits to aid them in their entrepreneurial journey. Currently, Mandera has 7 Vocational Training Centres with a total enrollment of 597 students.
Source: Kenya News Agency