Empowering Kericho county's youth: Successful completion of SIYB training of trainers

Naivasha, Kenya, August 12, 2024 — The recently concluded "Start and Improve Your Business" (SIYB) Training of Trainers (TOT) program has been hailed as a significant success, offering a vital boost to the entrepreneurial skills of vocational trainers from Kericho County. Held in Naivasha from July 28 to August 10, 2024, the program was organized under the auspices of the ACCEL Africa project and aimed to accelerate the elimination of child labour in the tea and coffee supply chains in Kenya.

The training was conducted against the backdrop of alarming global statistics on child labour, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The 2020 Global Estimates of Child Labour had highlighted a troubling increase in the number of children engaged in child labour, rising from 72.1 million in 2016 to 92.2 million in 2020 in sub-Saharan Africa alone. This increase underscores the urgent need for interventions aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 8.7, which seeks to eliminate all forms of child labour by 2025.

Child labour hinders children’s education and development, presenting significant human rights violations and risks for businesses involved in supply chains with prevalent child labour cases. Recognizing these challenges, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has advocated for effective public policies and systemic solutions to eradicate child labour, among these through the promotion of youth employment.

The ACCEL Africa project is uniquely positioned to address these issues, employing a systems approach that focuses on strengthening frameworks at the sub-national, national, regional, and global levels. This approach diverges from traditional project-based methods, aiming for sustainable, long-term solutions to the root causes of child labour.

In Kericho County, youth unemployment is a significant concern, despite the potential for self-employment in various sectors such as automotive mechanics, tailoring, metalwork, woodwork, and food and beverage. However, many young graduates from vocational training institutions lack essential business management skills, hindering their ability to successfully launch and sustain their enterprises.

To address this skills gap, the SIYB TOT program was designed to empower trainers from vocational colleges with the necessary business management. Over the two-week training, participants engaged in intensive sessions aimed at equipping them with the tools to foster entrepreneurship among their students.

The outcomes of the SIYB TOT program have been overwhelmingly positive. The newly trained vocational trainers are now better equipped to inspire a culture of entrepreneurship in their students, which is expected to lead to increased job creation and improved economic stability in Kericho County. By passing on these crucial business skills, the trainers are playing a pivotal role in reducing unemployment and enhancing the prospects of sustainable livelihoods for the youth.

This successful training marks a significant step forward in the ACCEL Africa project’s broader mission to eradicate child labour by addressing its root causes and empowering communities through education and entrepreneurship. As these trainers return to their institutions, they carry with them the knowledge and skills to transform the economic landscape of Kericho County, paving the way for a brighter, more prosperous future for the region’s youth.