The Italian Cooperation in Kenya contributes to the refurbishing of 3 new teaching laboratories at the Kapenguria Polytechnic.
The dedication ceremony was held on 21 June in the presence of Ambassador of Italy Paola Imperiale, the Kenyan Minister for Youth and Deputy Minister for Environment, who expressed their appreciation for the Italian government’s support for this form of bilateral cooperation.
€3.2 million contribution
With the 3 Kapenguria laboratories the number of polytechnic laboratories refurbished thanks to an overall €3.2 million contribution from the Italian Cooperation now rises to 18. The technical institutes are distributed throughout the country, particularly in the districts of Nyandarua, West Pokot, Kilifi, Suba, Nairobi and Tharaka, and serve an estimated population of 46,000 young people.
The intervention was part of a broader Italo-Kenyan debt conversion programme in line with the “National Youth Policy for vocational training”, with Millennium Goal VII and with the Italian Cooperation’s 2010-2012 planning guidelines in the sector of vocational training aimed at improving the economic and social living conditions of rural populations.
Each recipient institute is capable of developing training models associated with the needs of the local job market and in line with the new programmes envisaged by national reforms. Each intervention took 3 years and was aimed at supporting and improving access by female students and upgrading the professional skills of female teaching staff.
In addition to the investments of the past 3 years through the debt conversion programme, the Italian Cooperation has assumed an important role in the sector of vocational training.
According to the latest census in 2009, over three-quarters of the population of Kenya – approximately 78% – is below the age of 34, and the majority of young people are either unemployed or under-paid. The programme for the refurbishment and upgrading of the polytechnic institutes will improve the professional education of young people and facilitate their access to the working world.
