TVET Graduates in Kisumu Hear Call for Practical Skills to Drive Prosperity

Kenya, 21 December 2025 - Kenya cannot educate its way out of unemployment with certificates alone.

This is the key message that emerged during the graduation ceremony for TVET students at Manna is Kit Mikaye, Kisumu County, with authorities present declaring that the country must skill its way into prosperity.

As thousands of young people graduate each year into an economy that cannot absorb them, the urgency of skills-based education has moved from policy debate to national necessity.

What young Kenyans can do—with their hands, minds, and creativity—has become more important than the titles printed on their certificates.

Across the country, vocational and technical training institutions are proving that skills are powerful tools of socio-economic transformation.

In equipping learners with practical, market-driven competencies, skills training enables a faster transition from learning to earning.

It fuels enterprise creation, strengthens local value chains, and offers dignity through work, especially for youth who face financial or structural barriers to traditional academic pathways.

This shift reflects a growing recognition among education leaders and policymakers that development must be anchored in human capability not credentials alone.

Kisumu County Deputy Governor Mathews Owili has consistently emphasized that vocational education is a strategic investment, noting that “when we invest in skills, we are investing in people who can transform their communities and contribute meaningfully to the economy.”

His position mirrors a broader national agenda that places skilled human capital at the centre of economic planning.

The results of this approach are increasingly visible at the grassroots. Graduates of vocational institutions are becoming technicians, artisans, digital service providers, and entrepreneurs.

Many have launched small enterprises, created employment for others, and stimulated local economies.

This multiplier effect shows how skills training delivers not only personal advancement but also community-wide economic resilience.

Public intellectuals have reinforced this message directly to graduates. Prof George Wajackoyah, known for his uncompromising advice, has challenged young people to abandon dependency thinking.

Addressing graduands, he has stated plainly, “A degree without skills is useless.”

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He urges graduates to focus on innovation, problem-solving, and value creation, arguing that national development is driven by citizens who can produce, build, and adapt.

In an economy marked by rapid technological change and limited formal employment, Wajackoyah’s message carries weight.

Skills empower young people to navigate uncertainty, create their own opportunities, and respond to real societal needs.

They turn graduates from job seekers into job creators and from dependents into contributors.

Beyond economics, skills-based education is a tool for social equity.

Vocational institutions widen access to opportunity for learners who might otherwise be excluded by cost, geography, or academic pathways.

Recognising diverse talents and intelligences, skills training supports upward mobility and reduces inequality, ensuring that development is inclusive rather than elite-driven.

As Kenya advances its industrialisation and development agenda, the demand for skilled labour will only intensify.

Technicians, craftsmen, innovators, and service professionals are the backbone of productive economies.

Elevating skills training, investing in modern equipment, and changing societal attitudes toward vocational careers are therefore critical steps toward sustainable growth.

In the end, graduation is not the destination—it is the deployment point. When education is rooted in skills, it becomes a force for transformation.

Kenya’s future will not be built by certificates on walls, but by skilled hands at work, creative minds in motion, and empowered youth shaping the nation’s socio-economic destiny.