KCB Bank equips 1,000 Kericho youth with skills for jobs and enterprise
Kericho County has received a significant boost in the fight against youth unemployment, with 1,000 young people graduating from various Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. The initiative, a result of the partnership between KCB Foundation and Mastercard Foundation under the 2Jiajiri Youth Skills and Job Creation Programme, has seen KShs. 27 million invested to equip youth with market-relevant skills.
The graduation ceremony was attended by key leaders, including Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports, Kipchumba Murkomen, who lauded KCB’s efforts in enhancing employability. “I would like to express my gratitude to KCB for partnering with Kericho County to enhance youth skills and promote employability. This initiative is a commendable effort towards fostering grassroots development,” said Murkomen.
Kericho County Governor Erick Mutai echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the importance of strategic partnerships in tackling unemployment at the county level. “Together, through strategic partnerships, we can effectively tackle the issue of youth unemployment. In the coming year, our goal is to recruit an additional 5,000 beneficiaries into the program,” he stated.
The 2Jiajiri programme focuses on technical skills training as a pathway to self-employment and enterprise development. Out of the 1,000 graduates, 253 received business start-up toolkits to help them transition into self-reliance and small-scale entrepreneurship. Training areas included Construction, Manufacturing, Beauty & Personal Care, Domestic Care, Automotive, Creative Economy, ICT, Sustainable Agriculture & Climate Change Initiatives, and Health, with a combination of three months of classroom work and three months of industrial attachment.
Joblin Omari, KCB Foundation Head of Programmes, underscored the programme’s role in unlocking economic potential. “The youth represent an abundant resource locally. By ensuring they are well-equipped with relevant technical skills, we enable them to maximize their potential by tapping into existing market opportunities. The 2Jiajiri programme achieves this by pooling resources with like-minded partners such as Mastercard Foundation to empower the youth and catalyze enterprise development as a pathway to self-employment,” he explained.
The partnership between KCB Foundation and Mastercard Foundation aims to train 8,500 youth aged 18–34 years and create 43,000 jobs across Kenya by collaborating closely with county governments.
With youth unemployment remaining a pressing challenge in Kenya, such initiatives provide a sustainable approach to economic empowerment by equipping young people with technical skills and entrepreneurial opportunities.
