Over 5,000 youth graduate from Generation Kenya program, 83% placed in jobs

Over 5,000 youth graduate from Generation Kenya program, 83% placed in jobs

Over 5,000 youth graduated from the Generation Kenya program on Friday after four to eight weeks of training.

They were trained in sectors of garment, finance, retail and restaurant, food and beverage, and consumer goods with their skills expected to spur Kenya’s development and contribute to the Big Four Agenda as well as Vision 2030.

“It is encouraging to hear that Generation Kenya has been able to graduate over 18,000 youth, with 83% having been placed in meaningful jobs within 90 days of training completion,” ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru said.

He added: “The challenge of youth unemployment is not just a Kenyan problem, but a global challenge. As the government, we are very aware of the youth employment challenge and are always striving to do our part in solving for this menace through job creation, increasing expenditure towards development projects and developing policies that favor local industries, among other initiatives.”

The Cabinet Secretary had presided over the graduation together with Generation Kenya CEO Ramakrishnan Hariharan at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.

According to Mr. Hariharan, Generation Kenya is a global non-profit that helps the youth achieve a meaningful career and sustained well-being.

The program is active in 13 countries, with plans to expand to additional countries in 2020.

Generation Kenya has trained over 18,000 candidates, with 83% of them being placed in meaningful employment.

This is done through a network of over 200 employer partners across Kenya, through the funding support of USAID, McKinsey & Company, Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), IKEA Foundation, Safaricom Foundation and the partnership of over 30 TVET institutions.

“We cannot talk about successfully resolving the youth unemployment challenge without talking about the transformation of education to employment systems. Partnerships and collaboration are key to achieving this at scale. Hence the need to adopt a bottoms-up approach by working closely with County Governments, TVET institutions and employers. This is what Generation is all about,” he said on Friday.

The program’s candidate profile is one of marginalized groups, with 70% of its graduates having a grade C or below in the Kenya Secondary School Certificate of Education (KCSE) examination.

The transition rate from secondary school to tertiary institution has been reported as low.

56% of the program’s beneficiaries are female and within six months of starting employment, 81% of Generation graduates remain in their jobs.

Generation’s approach includes rigorous tracking of return-on-investment for both learners and employers.

Young people benefit from increased income, valuable technical and behavioral skills and long-term growth opportunities.

Employers benefit from reduced recruiting costs, better on-the-job performance, and higher employee retention.

 

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