The Government has called for stronger collaboration between technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and industry to equip young people with practical skills for employment, enterprise and global competitiveness.

The call was made by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba in a speech read on his behalf by Principal Secretary, State Department for TVET, Dr Esther Moria, during the opening of the three-day International TVET Conference 2026 at Mövenpick Hotel, Nairobi.

Ogamba said closer industry-TVET partnerships were critical in ensuring training translates into meaningful economic opportunities for young people.

“Before industries can grow, people must acquire the knowledge to build, operate and improve them. Before innovation can flourish, talent must be nurtured,” Ogamba said in the speech.

The Cabinet Secretary cited the experiences of Disrael Ngeresa, who trained in Industrial Mechatronics at Kiambu National Polytechnic and is now a Field Service Engineer at Krones LCS, and Medrin Wanja Wangui, who trained in Autobody Technology at Thika Technical Training Institute through dual training before securing employment at AutoXpress Limited.

He said the two cases demonstrated how closer collaboration between training institutions and industry could translate technical skills into employment and productive livelihoods.

“When training and industry work together, skills become opportunity,” Ogamba said.

According to Ogamba, Kenya has, since 2023, transitioned TVET to Competency-Based Education and Training, expanded modularization and deepened industry participation.

He said the public TVET system under the Ministry of Education comprises 33 national polytechnics and 217 technical and vocational colleges, while 11,600 trainers had been upskilled in competency-based training.

The Cabinet Secretary said approximately 300 modularized curricula had been developed or reviewed, while green competencies had been integrated into 86 curricula.

Ogamba said more than 2,500 companies had engaged with TVET institutions, while over 15,000 young people had benefited from improved training.

He said dual training, under which 50 to 70 per cent of training is undertaken in industry and 30 to 50 per cent in institutions, was helping bridge the gap between classroom learning and the workplace.

“The direction is therefore clear: training FROM industry, WITH industry and FOR industry,” he said.

Ogamba said the Kenya National Dual Training Policy, approved by Cabinet on January 21, 2025, provided a framework for institutional and employer roles, quality assurance, assessment and certification.

Finland’s Ambassador to Kenya, Riina-Riikka Heikka, said Finland was committed to supporting Kenya’s TVET reforms, particularly efforts to make training more practical and responsive to labour-market needs.

Heikka said dual training had brought the TVET sector and industry closer together and created partnerships that should continue beyond individual projects.

“Companies help design curricula, host students for workplace-based training periods and take part in exams so that what is taught keeps pace with what employers actually need,” she said.

She identified quality education, private-sector collaboration, gender equality and inclusion as key priorities, noting that trainers and in-company trainers were central to the success of the system.

Heikka also called for greater participation of women in traditionally male-dominated technical fields and improved access to TVET and employment for persons with disabilities.

Germany’s Deputy Head of Mission and Head of the Economic Department in Nairobi, Konrad Lax, said Kenya had made a decisive choice to bring training closer to the workplace.

“Learning must not stop at the classroom door,” Lax said, noting that dual training allowed young people to work with actual equipment and learn from experienced professionals.

He said more than 15,000 students across 120 TVET institutions were being trained in partnership with about 2,500 industry partners.

Lax said Germany, in collaboration with the Republic of Korea, is also focusing on promoting employment for women and supporting the green industry, with a target of equipping an additional 3,000 young Kenyans with technical skills needed for the green economy.

He urged the private sector to become “architects of the training process”, saying employers were best placed to identify emerging technologies and skills gaps.

Lax also called for incentives to encourage companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, to invest in training young people.

Ogamba said Kenya would continue strengthening digital and artificial intelligence skills, green technologies, trainer development, recognition of prior learning, modular and dual training, as well as international benchmarking and portability of qualifications.

He also highlighted labour mobility, noting that Kenya and Germany had established structured pathways for skilled workers and young Kenyans seeking vocational training and employment opportunities in Germany.

The Cabinet Secretary said an inaugural cohort of 31 young Kenyans, comprising 20 in hospitality and 11 in landscaping, had completed technical, German-language, intercultural and workplace-readiness training.

He said such pathways should remain safe, ethical, transparent and anchored in verified labour-market demand.

“Managed well, labour mobility can become brain circulation, creating opportunity for young people while strengthening professional networks, knowledge transfer and skills development between countries,” Ogamba said.

He said no country could build the skills system of the future in isolation, urging governments, industry, training institutions and development partners to strengthen cooperation.

Ogamba declared the International TVET Conference 2026 officially open, saying the ultimate goal is to equip young people with competencies for productive work, enterprise, mobility and lifelong progression.

by Joan Ogolla