On January 27, 2021, Safaricom Foundation officially opened a new and improved ICT enabled skills center at the Waithaka Vocational Training Centre in Nairobi. The institution was refurbished at a cost of KES 28 million including equipping the computer lab with modern ICT equipment as well as placing modern tools in the Plumbing, Welding, Electrical Engineering and the Food and Beverage departments.
This launch of the refurbished institution is part of the foundation’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme focusing on Plumbing, Welding, Food and Beverage and Electrical Engineering. The other component of the programme includes providing scholarships to over 700 students across various TVET institutions in the country. The center in Waithaka will see 200 students supported over the next two years with the remaining 500 spreading across 11 other institutions.
“It is not enough to just tell young people to enroll in TVET courses or showing them that such qualifications lead to good career paths; we must also put in the work to ensure that they are getting the best out of it by investing in quality TVET centers. At Safaricom, we are leading the way and calling on all other stakeholders to join us in this endeavor”, said Steve Chege, a Trustee in Safaricom Foundation.
The first batch which comprised of 350 students were officially commissioned where the students will not only receive fully paid scholarships but the Foundation will also work with other partners to place them in jobs after their training. Yesterday, the Waithaka Training Center officially admitted its initial 100 scholars.
