Above: ECT Students assembling the cabinet. This is one of the skill in Welding and Fabrication offered in ECT and examined by NITA.
When the hot February sun was gaining momentum in the early morning hours of Tuesday 2nd 2015, new students streamed in ECT to get an orientation for the cool breeze of knowledge. All of them rather aloof of the scorching sun outside. This was in the name of the newly piloted National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) courses being offered by ECT in partnership with KCB Foundation.
Above: Electrical Wireman. Another NITA short course being offered in ECT
The three short courses are Electrical wireman, Welding and Fabrication and Plumbing, which have three grade levels, each taking a period of six months. During the training, the participants are involved in rigorous practical with portions of theory.
This is in line with Dual Training System (DTS) that ECT uses to ensure that participants fully attain and understand what is needed in the market.
NITA classes are scheduled for the morning hours of Tuesdays and Thursdays every week for six months. Aware that most participants are both employed or have different occupations, this timetable is meant to provide extra time for the participants to also engage in other activities.
To join the classes, one needs to have at least a class eight certificate or above. 200,000 pupils will miss a slot to high school this year alone due to inadequate spaces for intakes. These pupils end up being absorbed in the informal market while most of them remain jobless.
All these efforts on DTS are meant to ensure that unemployment reduces marginally in the same spirit with Kenya Vision 2030. They are also meant to provide proper skills to boost the industries with skilled manpower for a more productive Kenya.