Nearly 200 vulnerable young women and adolescent girls graduated into the trades of plumbing, electrical, and painting during a ceremony today, boosting the technical workforce in Nairobi and Kiambu counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe role that technical and vocational skills play in propelling the Kenyan people to new industrialized status by 2030 and creating opportunities for self-employment cannot be underscored. I commend Family Bank and USAID through World Vision Kenya for joining hands to empower the lives of these young women,\u201d said Engineer Edward Karani, Director for Infrastructure Development, Technology and Innovation, Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) during the graduation ceremony.<\/p>\n
Through a KES 30 million partnership between Family Group Foundation and the USAID Tumikia Mtoto Project, 176 young women and girls, aged 18-24 are currently enrolled or just recently completed training aimed at\u00a0enhancing their employability, income, and livelihoods.<\/p>\n
The initiative also provides labor market linkages to the 176 young women who have completed the program, while 100 young women are being commissioned to join the next cohort.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a financial institution, we recognize that the gender gap\u00a0in financial inclusion\u00a0remains significantly high, with a report by African Women\u2019s Development Fund estimating it at USD 42 billion for women in Africa,\u201d said\u00a0Family Bank CEO Rebecca Mbithi.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a Bank, we are instrumental in accelerating sustainable investment themes, and the co-creation of this intervention is critical to us. We want to not only empower the young women but enable them to empower others as we drive financial inclusion and sustainability. Through these skillsets, we are enabling these young women to set up businesses and build strong entrepreneurial skills,\u201d she\u00a0said.<\/p>\n
This project is under the Foundation\u2019s Shared Values Initiatives in construction, entrepreneurship, development, and business management services dubbed the\u00a0Tufuzu Youth Entrepreneurship Development Project,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0which provides young adults technical training and access to labour markets, financing, and linkages to other strategic partners.<\/p>\n \u201cThe DREAMS program has helped to empower today\u2019s 176 graduates with knowledge and skills to participate fully in Kenya\u2019s economy, in fields including plumbing, painting, and electrical trades. We are all proud and hopeful as they step out into the world, ready to make a difference in their lives, and the lives of their families,\u201d said US Embassy Deputy Ambassador Charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires Eric Watnik.<\/p>\n The partnership also seeks to increase the economic stability of households to care for and protect orphans and vulnerable children and to strengthen the capacity of community systems and structures through practical soft and hard skills training combined with practical training of technical skills certified by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) and the National Construction Authority (NCA) implemented by Arc Skills, a leading provider of skills development solutions for schools, universities, and businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cThese efforts contribute to the broader World Vision Kenya goal of promoting the well-being of vulnerable children and families across 38 Counties. World Vision is a child-focused organization implementing integrated health, education, household resilience, water, sanitation, hygiene, and child protection projects,\u201d said Mr. Paul Lilan, who is the World Vision Kenya\u2019s Board Chairman.<\/p>\n In addition to NITA and NCA certifications, the graduates received construction tool kits to equip them as they start their integration into the labor market demands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nearly 200 vulnerable young women and adolescent girls graduated into the trades of plumbing, electrical, and painting during a ceremony today, boosting the technical workforce in Nairobi and Kiambu counties. \u201cThe role that technical and vocational skills play in propelling the Kenyan people to new industrialized status by 2030 and creating opportunities for self-employment cannot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-csr"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n