NITA consolidates teamwork with County Governments in strengthening Industrial Skills Development
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 24 – The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) has deepened its partnership with County Governments through a high-level engagement that brought together County Executive Committee Members (CECs), key sector stakeholders and national policymakers to enhance coordination in skills development and industrial training.
The forum emphasized the importance of intergovernmental collaboration in advancing industrial training, certification and youth empowerment across the 47 counties.
It brought together over 80 percent County Executive Committee Members (CECs) focused on aligning NITA’s mandate with the county-level development priorities through targeted strategies such as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), industrial curriculum reform and the effective administration of the Industrial Training Levy.
NITA Director General, Theresa Wasike encouraged counties to work closely with their CECs in finance and HR to ensure payment of training levies as it is essential for sustainability for national training programmes.
“We emphasized joint responsibility in identifying county-level training needs, promoting labour mobility and facilitating trade testing and certification for youth across Kenya”, said Ms Wasike.
Chairman of the National Industrial Training Board, Hon. Ali Noor Aden lauded the strong turnout and reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to driving sustainability, quality assurance and global competitiveness in industrial training.
“The overwhelming presence of County Executive Committee Members signifies the importance that counties accord to education and training. As a Board, we are committed to enhancing our strategic partnerships, especially under our 2023–2028 Strategic Plan,” said Hon. Aden.
Additionally, the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) forum provided a platform to discuss the rollout of RPL, a program designed to formally recognize skills acquired informally, particularly in trades such as construction, mechanics, and craft work.
The RPL programme targets the certification of 420,000 individuals by October 2025, in line with the Presidential Rapid Results Initiative (RRI).
A key highlight was the ongoing rollout of the NYOTA Program, an initiative targeting youth aged up to 35 years.
The program aims to provide industry-relevant skills through masterclass trainers identified in each county the program, which began in June, allows youth to register via Safaricom’s USSD platform by dialing *254#.
“We have developed over 20 new curricula under NYOTA and begun onboarding trainers for assessment, this program will be instrumental in empowering youth and meeting our RPL certification goals.” said Ms. Wasike.
The Chairperson of the Industrial Training and Strategy Committee, Ms. Carolyn Rutto echoed the sentiments of the Director General and emphasized the committee’s central role in identifying strategic priorities, monitoring training programme effectiveness and fostering public-private partnerships.
“As Chair of this committee, I’m proud to be part of an initiative that strengthens county partnerships and affirms our resolve to transform industrial training in Kenya,” Ms. Rutto noted.
NITA and County Governments engagement marks a new chapter in Kenya’s journey toward skills-led economic transformation through coordinated strategies, policy alignment and stakeholder synergy, the partnership seeks to build a competent, certified and globally competitive workforce.
“This collaboration is not a one-time even, We have agreed to form a joint technical committee and to meet annually, with a shared goal of transforming the lives of Kenyan youth through relevant and inclusive industrial training.”
