Job Skills Training for Marginalized Kenyan Youth

Dear friends and supporters,

Thank you for your continued support for our job and life skills project. We truly can't do what we do without you.

Recent months have passed with deep apprehension due to nationwide youth-led protests that have been underway since July 2024. Kenyan youth are standing up and demanding good governance, education, employment, and an immediate end to corruption. They want changes that allow them to improve their socio-economic status and quality of life. As these often violent clashes unfold around us, our work at the Shauri Yako Youth Support Centre (SYSC) youth support work has never been so important.

Youth (15-34 years old), who form 35% of Kenya's population, face an unemployment rate of 67 percent. The government has been unable to provide the young population with opportunities and, as a result, youth find themselves increasingly marginalized, without access to education, development opportunities like job skills training, and employment so they can become independent adults. There is an urgent need for the Kenyan government to work with youth support workers, employers, education providers and training institutions to create a strategy for creating youth economic opportunities.      

According to the Federation of Kenyan Employers' latest report, the construction industry is expected to create 35.7% (the majority) of new jobs in Kenya between now and 2030. The demand for skilled workers in this sector has been growing steadily in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue well into the future because the sector is so vital to the growth and development of the country. As the population continues to increase, so does the need for new infrastructure, building, and housing. The demand for new construction projects translates into an increased demand for skilled workers.

Shauri Yako Youth Support Centre's plan into 2025 is to collaborate with Nairobi-based CAP Youth Employment Institute (CAPYEI), the National Construction Authority, and construction industry partners to attempt to fill this gap. Our collaborative efforts have the potential to change many lives. Discussions are underway to create skills training hubs in our partners' construction sites that will provide work-based learning and internship opportunities.

During this last quarter, our project received US$456 from your generous donations. We to plan use these funds for construction skills training internships and our Scout program.

Many thanks for your support. Our hope is that one day, we will be able to start a formal Construction Skills Training Institute where we provide free training and facilitate jobs in the construction industry to many more youth. 

Sincerely,
Joe Mwai

Links:

• Kenyan youth antigovernment protests continue (Al-Jazeera News)