Skills4Prosperity

Overview

S4P Kenya (S4PKe) is part of the global Skills for Prosperity (S4P) programme, which draws on UK expertise to improve the equity, quality, and relevance of higher education (HE); technical, vocational education and training (TVET) in Kenya. The 30-month programme, effective from October 2020 to March 2023, with funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), seeks to improve skill levels, employment rates and productivity for women, low-income youth, and persons with disabilities in Kenya.

Additionally, the UK funded Girls Education Challenge (GEC) has already supported over 330,000 marginalised girls in Kenya, many of these from Turkana County. Through GEC support, the girls re-enrolled in primary schools, attended school consistently and transitioned into secondary education. However, as GEC projects close in Kenya, many of these girls may not acquire tertiary education and skills, which they need to secure decent jobs. This additional S4P component will complement GEC, by providing marginalised women and girls an opportunity to acquire technical skills and tertiary education, especially in Turkana County.

This project aimed to equip 400 marginalised women and girls from Turkana County with ICT Skills and Solar Installation Skills. It will further provide life skills, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. More importantly, it will transition marginalised women and girls into decent and sustainable jobs and businesses.

Background of Turkana County

The County Government of Turkana is one of the 47 county governments formed by the County Government’s Act of 2012 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010). The County Government Headquarters is based in Lodwar Town, with offices located off Nawoitorong’ Road in Kanamkemer Ward, Turkana Central Sub County.

At 77,000 sq. km, Turkana County is the second largest county, covering more than 13% of Kenya’s surface. This vast land in the northwest of Kenya is an awakening economic giant, for beneath its surface lie huge oil deposits that are currently being explored and will see extraction in an industrial scale during the years to come – a windfall for a county with a population of slightly over 1 million.

Why ICT and Solar Technologies?

Despite the commendable strides of the Kenyan government in promoting digital literacy, there are concerns about equal access to digital devices and knowledge, particularly in the area of gender inclusivity. As the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report of 2019 reports, “women in Kenya are 39% less likely than men to have access to mobile internet” and “are also 23% less likely to own a smartphone.” Moreover, this gender digital divide appears to be growing with the gender gap in mobile internet use increasing from 34% in 2019 to 42% in 2020. A 2021 study titled “Kenya’s Digital Economy: A People’s Perspective,” also found that only “35% of women use advanced digital services compared to 54% of men.”

Disparities in labor force participation, economic opportunity and ICT access and use disadvantage young women when compared to their male counterparts in Turkana County (World Bank, 2021). Yet, we know digital work can be transformative for young women, helping to overcome social, economic, political and physical constraints. This project will leverage the digital economy to provide women and girls with a means of earning a living. This is especially important in places like Turkana where cultural bias, mobility restrictions, security and time limitations often prevent women from taking their rightful place in the workforce. Digital economy jobs for women will allow and encourage remote working, where gender may not matter as much as in the physical economy. It opens up a world of opportunities for women in poor communities.

On the other hand, access to talent is cited as one of the biggest barriers to scaling up the clean energy sector. For example, Kenya will need atleast 30,000 more solar technicians by 2025, according to a recent UNESCO labour market analysis report (TTI, 2020). Yet, Kenyan women continue to be significantly under-represented across the clean energy value chain, and particularly in places like Turkana. This is despite the critical role that women play in the economy and in managing climate change in their communities. This gender imbalance puts the long-term viability and sustainability of the clean energy sector at risk, inviting new perspectives to expand female participation in the green economy.

Project Implementation Processes

ACWICT’s partnership with the Turkana County Government was a strategic collaboration that significantly enhanced the capacity of Vocational Training Institutes (VTIs) and private sector partners in Turkana County. This partnership successfully delivered high-quality training programs in both ICT and solar technologies, ensuring that these sectors were well-supported by skilled professionals. Through close collaboration with the Turkana County Government, ACWICT integrated cutting-edge digital literacy, coding, and online working skills into the county’s vocational education system, while also developing robust training programs in solar technologies and solar installation.

The collaboration extended beyond training to include the provision of industry-led on-the-job training, which was crucial in equipping the local workforce with practical skills tailored to meet the needs of employers. Through this partnership, ACWICT and the Turkana County Government strengthened the county’s vocational training infrastructure and cultivated a more resilient and skilled workforce in these critical sectors.

The training was delivered within a span of eight weeks, including a virtual orientation meeting with all the successfully enrolled young women and girls; six solid weeks of physical training and hand holding; training field monitoring, both by the county Government and ACWICT; and an assessment on skills acquisition and practical sessions to both the solar skilling and ICT skilling learners.

Safeguarding measures put in place

ACWICT safeguarding journey for our project participants explored opportunities to sensitize the young women and then take precautions, exploring all the challenges in communication, negotiation to prevent any form of gender and sexual based violence.

The following measures were put in place to allow reporting and addressing possible cases of sexual exploitation, adult grooming, bullying, social-economic exploitation and harassment at all stages of project implementation (mobilization, enrolment, training, mentorship and job placement stages)

The communication involved sensitizing the young women the program is fully sponsored hence nothing to ask favors for. ACWICT conducted targeted awareness to educate the young women about their rights, available services, and the importance of safeguarding
ACWICT provided training and capacity-building programs to equip marginalized young women with skills, knowledge, and confidence. Cyber hygiene/online safety was part of the basic digital literacy training to take care of any possible online harassment. This training also took care of those expected to work online and receive their payments online
ACWICT partners signed a commitment to adhere to the expected code-of conduct, and this is enforced through contracting. All the trainers, mentors and facilitators signed a contract with several clauses on safeguarding do’s and don’ts.
At the project design, ACWICT established safe spaces where young women could seek support, guidance, and mentorship by providing a dedicated telephone number; email address/online suggestion box (in the form of a link) where participants could raise their concerns in confidence to management for redress. An email and ‘hot-line’ phone number was shared with everyone, to encourage the reporting of incidences directly to ACWICT safeguarding lead and ACWICT executive director. The reporting was also to put inconsideration family background of the young women who could be suffering in their own homes maybe violence, or any other form of exploitation.
The beneficiaries agreed to receive transport reimbursement directly on their phones, eliminating any form of ‘gatekeeping’ by the TVET centres or other third party partners.
Baby/child care services were offered to ensure the babies are taken care of as their mothers attend classes.
Light meals were offered to expectant mothers to sustain them during the training sessions.

Project Outcomes and Impact

Project Outcomes and Impact	Details
Sensitization and Government Engagement	A two-day meeting with the Turkana County Government was attended by 28 key county officers, including the Deputy Governor and the County Executive Member for Education and Sports. The county government fully supported the project and collaborated closely with ACWICT for its successful implementation.
Training Centers Identified	9 training centers were identified. Nine centers (seven public, two private) met the required criteria to deliver training.
Trainers of Trainers	22 trainers (2 Female, 20 Male) were trained to deliver ICT and solar installation skills, ensuring they were well