Our wheelbarrow factory was bustling with activity. The proprietor had a number. 10 wheelbarrows per hour. Our apprentices were doing 3 to 4 at that time. The good news was that the wheelbarrows were now available at most hardware stores. Remember, this series was partly about what worked in youth
Our welders from TVET A, let's call them Wadzomba. Wadzomba were, in many ways, the real definition of opportunity youth. Some came from disadvantaged homes. For some, this was part of the reason they ended up in blue-collar jobs.I wish that did not matter anymore once
We just recently celebrated International Youth Skills Day 2026. When we were setting up the HR Taskforce in 2024, I thought my only problem was to find enough jobs for skilled youth. It turns out, I was wrong. Remember my wheelbarrow factory story, where welders from TVET A were rated
Early during the setup of the HR Taskforce, I met an entrepreneur over breakfast in Nairobi. I asked him a simple question: What is your biggest challenge as an entrepreneur fabricating wheelbarrows? His answer surprised me. “Getting skilled labour. Welders, to be precise.” I remember thinking, How can that be?
When people hear about youth employment programs, the first instinct is almost always the same: "How many young people are you going to train?" It's a fair question. For years, success has often been measured by the number of youth who attended a workshop, completed a
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