Parents urged to shun negative attitude towards polytechnics

Kiambu Thursday June 8 ,2023,

KNA by Steve Biko

The government has been promoting vocational training for the youth to gain skills in order to fend for themselves and not rely on white collar jobs that are scarce.

In view of this, parents are thus being urged to enroll their children in vocational colleges to gain the requisite skills.

According to stakeholders in the TVRT sector, the government has increased its efforts to equip the youth with practical technical skills to curb the soaring unemployment rates.

To reverse unemployment among the youth in Kiambu Sub County, parents have been advised to shun these negative attitudes which have heavily impacted on the uptake of vocational training skills.

Speaking to KNA, Ndumberi Youth Polytechnic Director Simon Kahura said that polytechnics provide an avenue for students to acquire quality skills besides recapturing possible academic dreams earlier lost.

“Vocational training should not be seen as places meant for failures, the attainment of skills is the way to go and there’s more to life than just sitting idle. I therefore urge parents to avoid such attitudes and enroll their children to these institutions,” said Kahura.

Kahura further noted that graduates from these institutions are usually very well equipped with the technical skills that should be able to create employment on their own as opposed to seeking employment that proves an uphill task currently.

For instance, a student is given an opportunity to enroll for a course for at least two years of which 90 percent will be practical. “The quality of training offered is good as the trainers are professional,” he said. 

He named a variety of courses offered including building construction, carpentry and joinery, commercial based fields; engineering, textile leased programmes, catering accommodation and information and communication technology.

“As an institution we have embarked on a massive promotion and strengthening of sustainable links between training, the labor market and industrial attachment,” he noted.

Kahura observed that the county has taken several steps to resuscitate vocational training by producing technicians whose skills are in demand in the market.

“We offer high quality training at all levels through expansion and modernization of equipment and facilities acquired by the county government in line with our motto training for self-reliance,” he said.

He noted that training opportunities in information technology based courses have increased to cope with the current digital demand.

Sub County Deputy Director of vocational training Wilfred Nyarangi called on parents to advise the youth by playing their part of encouraging them to utilize the available institutions.

“We believe our youth are talented therefore we want to give them an opportunity to nature their individual talents and impact positively to the society,” said Nyarangi.

The director said that these institutions offer a wide range of training programmes from craft to diploma certificate levels.

Herbert Maungu (20), a final year student pursing carpentry and joinery at the institution hailed the training saying that the skills he has learnt, will draw him closer to realise his dream of being self-employed or owning his own workshop.

Courtesy ; K. N. A