Govt to Sponsor 90,000 Youths to TVETs and Colleges

President William Ruto has announced that the government will sponsor 90,000 youths to pursue various courses.

Speaking during the NYOTA capital disbursement, Ruto said the initiative targets young people who have not yet pursued any course or acquired vocational skills.

“We have 820,000 young people we plan to empower. Among them, 110,000 are like you, and another 90,000 will be selected from those who have not pursued any course,” Ruto said.

He added that the programme will support both school leavers and those who did not complete formal education.

The government will pay course fees, cover exam costs, and provide a monthly allowance of Ksh6,000 to enable participants to study, complete their courses, and gain practical skills.

“There are youth who finished school, while others didn’t and they don’t have any skill. We will look for these youth, we will pay for them a fee to study a course and sit for exams. We will also give them Ksh6,000 every month to go to school, finish, and get a skill,” he added.

Ruto’s announcement that the Government will sponsor 90,000 youths to TVETs and colleges marks a pivotal expansion of Kenya’s youth empowerment agenda under the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project.

Launched as a five-year, World Bank–backed initiative, the Nyota Fund goes beyond one-off cash transfers to include training, apprenticeship, entrepreneurship support, work experience, and a savings culture for vulnerable youth aged 18–29 (up to 35 for persons with disabilities).

It aims to reach about 820,000 young Kenyans in all 47 counties by combining financial support for business start-ups, mentoring, and skills-building interventions.

In its business support component alone, 100,000 youth will receive KSh50,000 grants, disbursed in two tranches with mandatory training,to start enterprises, with 70 beneficiaries per ward ensuring nationwide inclusivity.

This also includes being saved automatically through the national Social Security Fund’s “Haba Haba” savings plan, which instills financial discipline in the person.

Under the employability component of the Nyota Project, 90,000 youths will benefit from on-the-job training and work experience attachments with master craftsmen and industry partners, where they will earn stipends to learn employable skills.

Another 20,000 will be certified under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), validating informal skills, and 600,000 will be trained in accessing government procurement opportunities.

Also Read: Ruto Announces Free Training and Monthly Stipend for 90,000 Unskilled Youth

TVET Institutional Development and Course Provision

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training subsector has been characterized by marked expansion, with Kenya increasing TVET institutions from about 2,400 to almost 3,000 and enrollment rising by about 63% to over 565,000 trainees.

The programmes vary from engineering to construction, ICT, and automotive repair, agro-processing, hospitality, healthcare support, and renewable energy, all done through competency-based curricula that are co-developed with industry partners.

Also Read: Best KUCCPS TVET Courses Students Can Pursue in 2026

Skill Development and Economic Impact

Interventions by both TVET and Nyota catalyze broad-based skill development in youth through equipping them with technical proficiency, coupled with entrepreneurial capacity.

Such competencies decrease youth dependence on white-collar employment and stimulate MSME growth even in rural and peri-urban areas.

The development of digital skills and financial literacy will further make a person more adaptable in the dynamically changing world economy.

To date, tens of thousands have benefited from Nyota funding and trainings, while the second phase disbursement recently rolled out to nearly 50,000 youth across 27 counties.

Roadmap for a Singapore Model Economy

The future vision for the economic transformation of Kenya, as enunciated through BETA and Vision 2030, has some parallel with the experience of Singapore, from low-income to high-income economy.

These are critical foundations in investment in human capital, industrialization, as well as innovation ecosystems.

The enhancement and extension of the quality of TVET in Kenya, in addition to programs for the facilitation of youth empowerment like Nyota, is giving the country the required labor in terms of value addition in manufacturing and the service sector.

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