Lacking in technical skills pose a set-back for the country’s development

Last Updated 13 years ago by Kenya Engineer

By Daisy Gakuu

Wanting Practical skills may deter the Jubilee Government’s ambition of creating one million jobs annually from its third year in office. Tasked to deliver this mandate (generating jobs) are the 26 Principal Secretaries approved by the National Assembly and sworn in last week.

A Statement from the Ministry of Labour: Labour Perspectives issued in March last year stated: lack of necessary education, relevant training and the knowledge and skills required to enhance their absorption into the labour market, as grounds of youth unemployment.

There has been an acute shortage of technical skills that has hit the economy as Universities take over polytechnics and middle-level colleges.  In 2011, the former Minister of Higher Education, Margaret Kamar speaking during the fifth graduation ceremony of Sigalagala Technical Training Institute in Kakamega, said that the clamor to convert technical institutions into university colleges had seriously perpetuated the continued shortage of artisans and technicians the country needs to drive Vision 2030.

The Principal Secretaries seem to concur with Kamar and have warned that most of the projects lined up by Jubilee government may not be realized due to lack of manpower.

“These skills are in short supply yet they are critical for numerous economic clusters that are planned to come up at constituencies, counties and national levels,” said Industrialization and Enterprise Development Principal Secretary, Wilson Songa.

According to experts, it has created a gap in production of Vocational skills such as: plumbing, mechanics, tailoring, carpentry and welding which are vital for self-employment and generating jobs for others.

“Universities are important in creating innovations and ideas but should never replace technical institutions which produce skills for implementing the ideals and creating jobs,” said Wainana Gituro, the Social and Political Pillar Director at the Vision 2030 Secretariat.

The Principal Secretaries met in Nairobi on Tuesday to review the government’s roadmap for achieving the ambitious development goals.

“The gap existing between the skills available and what is required to meet the Vision 2030 is frightening,” Dr. Songa told a forum organized by the Planning and Devolution Ministry to review the second Medium Term Plan (MTP).

The second MTP (the Jubilee government’s first five-year development plan) will focus on increasing energy production, improving agricultural productivity through irrigation, boosting use of ICT and expanding transport infrastructure.

Last year, the Labour Ministry commissioned a National Manpower Survey (NMS) undertaken by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) that is expected to be concluded and made public this year. The survey is set to boost sustainable employment opportunities and the improvement of employability in the country.

On Tuesday, key Government Departments and Agencies said the skill shortage extended to courses generated by Universities, echoing a view long expressed by key pillars of Vision 2030 such as Agriculture, ICT, Manufacturing and Tourism.

Last year, the Government added Mining and Petroleum as the seventh pillar of the Vision 2030 following the discovery of oil in Turkana.

“Most of the skills required to develop the oil industry in areas of process control, engineering, electrical, metal fabrication and rigging are not offered by any of the local universities,” said Ken Mugambi, a Strategic Planning Officer at the National Oil Corporation of Kenya.

 “Generally, this country faces shortage of critical skills such as engineers and surveyors,” said Michael Chege, Senior Economic Policy Advisor at Planning and Devolution Ministry. “In Africa, Kenya ranks a distant third from Nigeria and South Africa in terms of the number of engineers per population,” he added.

It is estimated that the country currently has a ratio of one engineer for every 10,000 people which loosely translates to 4,000 engineers. Nevertheless, the shortage of engineers and other critical lines of work required to power industrialization is a common problem for African countries.

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