30 journalists from TV, Radio and Newspapers reported from the launch in Nairobi

Press Release

9 May 2019 Nairobi

SIFA - Skills Initiative for Africa launches a program designed to address skills development and youth employment in Kenya.

Africa has a great potential of young workers. Every year more than 20 million people finish school and enter the job market. But the growing level of youth unemployment also becomes a fundamental challenge to many countries. In fact, 60 % of all unemployed people in Africa are nowadays under the age of 25.

SIFA - Skills Initiative for Africa is an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC) implemented by the African Union Development Agency- NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) with the support of the German Government to strengthen occupational prospects of young people in Africa. Under SIFA, the German Development Bank KFW supports a Financing Facility for Skills Development to provide funding on a competitive basis for the implementation of innovative and sustainable skills development initiatives. The second pillar of SIFA is a technical assistance program supported by GIZ to strengthen private sector engagement. SIFA aims to foster the employment and entrepreneurship of youth, women and vulnerable groups including refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons, the disadvantaged and disabled.

The SIFA Financing Facility for Skills Development addresses the common challenges in skills development in Africa by upscaling and/or disseminating local best practices and supporting innovative and sustainable approaches.

Kenya has been selected as one of the eight participating countries in SIFA. The others are Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Togo and Tunisia.

In Kenya, every year 600,000 young people leave schools and only 90,000 access universities or a tertiary institution.

The majority of these youngsters are left out and prevented from acquiring skills required in the highly competitive job market.

A quality and relevant TVET system is critical for national economic growth and global competitiveness as well as holding a strategic position in effective implementation of Vision 2030 and the “Big Four” Agenda.

Most young people disregard technical and vocational education as they view it to be for low academic performers and lacking a clear framework for education advancement, therefore, leading to blue-collar jobs that are mostly menial. To change these social perspectives and unlock the potential of technical and vocational education in the country, the Ministry of Education has embarked on TVET sub-sector reforms and frequent campaigns to turn around the potential learners’ perspectives.

The SIFA Financing Facility is launching a call for proposals under Funding Window I for large skills development investment projects proposed by Kenyan technical and vocational training entities in partnership with the Private sector. The Grant amount per project under this Funding Window is up to EUR 3 million.

The window can fund a combination of the following 5 technical and didactical interventions:

procurement of training equipment, construction, rehabilitation or expansion of learning infrastructure. 5 % of the total project cost can be spent for training of trainers, curriculum design, and learner scholarships.

For more details log on to www.SkillsAfrica.org