By Winnie Kamau
NAIROBI – On a cold morning in Kenya’s capital, young people, government officials, business leaders, and development partners gathered to unveil what many hope could become a blueprint for tackling one of Africa’s most persistent challenges: youth unemployment.
Kenya has launched a private sector-led dual Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) curriculum that places employers at the centre of skills development. Under the new model, students spend 75 percent of their training in the workplace and 25 percent in the classroom, a shift designed to ensure graduates leave school with practical, job-ready skills.
More than 60 Kenyan companies helped design the curriculum in collaboration with the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA).
Speaking at the launch, which coincided with the Youth Skills Development Forum in Nairobi, Shadrack Mwadime, Kenya’s principal secretary for labour and skills development, said the approach could also strengthen Kenya’s attractiveness to investors.
“Now that we have the private sector-led dual system, I believe that when we market Kenya to the world, investors will come. The kind of skills they are looking for will be provided by our institutions, and Kenya will therefore be a conducive environment for investment.”
The stakes are high not only for Kenya but for the continent. According to Anirban Bhowmik, Director for Central, East, and Southern Africa at Swisscontact, Africa faces an unprecedented employment challenge.
“Across the continent, nearly 20 million young Africans join the workforce annually. Every year, more than one million young people enter Kenya’s labour market.”
“But our economy is only able to absorb 300,000. And I’m making reference to both the public and the private sector. The public sector absorbs about 200,000. Then the private sector is only able to absorb 100,000. So we are going back to the drawing board, and we are serious about this. We want to crack our brains and find out where the problem is. How come 700,000 young people slip through our fingers? They are unable to secure employment.” Kenya’slabour and skills development principal secretary painted a stark picture of Kenya’s labour market.
Mr. Bhowmik warned that the issue goes far beyond labour statistics.
“The 2026 Africa Youth Employment Outlook underscores the unprecedented scale of job creation required. Youth unemployment is not merely a labour statistic. It puts lives, families, and communities at risk; it is the biggest barrier to prosperity and a significant contributor to social instability. Governments cannot hire their way out of this challenge. Development partners cannot fund their way out of it. Only thriving enterprises can create durable employment. Investors follow skills, productivity and reliability.”
Development partners say the solution lies in aligning training more closely with industry needs. Mirko Giulietti, Switzerland’s ambassador to Kenya, Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, and Burundi, said private sector leadership is essential.
“In Switzerland, roughly two-thirds of young people choose an apprenticeship over a university pathway after completing compulsory schooling. They spend three to four days a week learning on the job inside a real company and one to two days in a vocational school. They are employed, they are paid, and by 18 or 19, they hold a nationally recognised qualification. The result is a youth unemployment rate of 8.8 per cent, compared with 16.6 per cent across the European Union.”
The programme draws inspiration from Switzerland’s dual vocational training model, adapted locally through the PropelA initiative implemented by Swisscontact. The pilot programme, developed in partnership with industry and NITA, focuses on trades critical to Kenya’s infrastructure expansion, including electrical installation and plumbing.
The programme aims to address a striking paradox in Kenya’s economy. Even as the country expands infrastructure across transport, housing, and agriculture, technical skills remain scarce. The construction sector alone is valued at more than KES 2 trillion, yet Kenya has only 2,000 certified plumbers, masons, and painters compared with 5,000 engineers.
Across the wider economy, 55 percent of informal-sector firms report difficulty finding skilled workers, according to the Ministry of Labour. For Sharon Mosin, Swisscontact’s country director in Kenya, the core problem lies in the disconnect between education systems and the labour market.
“Our education and training systems have expanded access significantly, but expansion has not always translated into relevance. Employers consistently report difficulty finding job-ready candidates, while graduates struggle to find work. This is not because young people lack potential; it is because the skills demanded by a rapidly evolving economy are not always aligned with what is being taught.”
Industry groups say their participation in curriculum design is key. Joyce Njogu, Head of Consulting and Sustainability at the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, said businesses are increasingly involved in shaping national skills policies.
“KAM has supported the development and rollout of several employer-informed dual training curricula that are currently in use within the manufacturing sector. In addition, KAM contributes to the National Dual Training Committee and the Sector Skills Committees under the Ministry of Labour. These platforms allow industry perspectives to inform national skills policies and standards.”
For Kenya, the hope is that placing employers at the centre of training will narrow the gap between education and work and perhaps offer a model for other African countries searching for solutions to the continent’s growing youth employment crisis.
