Over 1,800 youth from 14 Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) centres across the country have completed the KCB Foundation’s 2Jiajiri youth technical skills and job creation programme.
The training is courtesy of a year-long partnership between KCB Foundation and Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Work’s programme. The partnership aims to enable young people to access dignified work and increase income generation by skilling 8,500 youth in various economic sectors, targeting 70% women, leading to the creation of 43,000 jobs in the country.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony at the University of Nairobi, Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Salim Mvurya acknowledged the active role played by KCB in driving youth progress in the country. “Your partnership with Mastercard Foundation is a testimony to the power of collaboration in harnessing the youthful potential that resides across this country.”
KCB Bank Kenya Managing Director Mrs. Annastacia Kimtai said: “We are deliberate about addressing youth unemployment and unlocking their potential through technical vocational skills training. This is why, as a bank, we pair this up with enterprise development training to equip our youth to set up their enterprises in key economic sectors with high market demand.”
During the event, 738 business start-up toolkits were handed over to graduands to kickstart their entrepreneurial journey, marking a significant step in their quest to run successful business enterprises.
The 2Jiajiri programme involves six months of classroom work and three months’ industrial attachment with practical training to address the skills gaps. The trainees are then funnelled into employment opportunities once they complete their attachment, and those interested in establishing their micro-enterprises are supported by KCB’s Business Development Services (BDS), equipped with trade-specific toolkits and start-up working capital by KCB Bank through the Foundation.
To date, the 2Jiajiri programme has created over 179,822 jobs, with 40,063 youth receiving hands-on technical and vocational skills training in key industry sectors. KCB has disbursed nearly KES 1.7 Billion in business startup loans and 2,225 startup toolkits issued to enable the youth to deliver high-quality work across their respective trades.
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