President Uhuru Kenyatta today met WorldSkills International officials who briefed him on the plan by the global organization to establish its chapter in Kenya.

The WorldSkills delegation, which was led by the outgoing President Simon Bartley, is in the country to assess Kenya’s readiness to join the global vocational education and training competition, aptly referred as “Skills Olympics”.

The meeting was also attended by the Deputy President Dr. William Ruto, the Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof. George Magoha, Principal Secretary for Post Training and Skills Development Alfred Cheruiyot, outgoing Principal Secretary for Vocational and Technical Training Dr. Kevit Desai, the Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Education Zack Kinuthia and Director-General TVET Authority Dr. Kipkirui Langat, among other senior government officials.

Presently WSI has 83 member States and connects two-thirds of the world’s population, inspiring and supporting 100 million young people to get ahead with skills by 2030.

There are eight members from Africa namely Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana, and Uganda.

Kenya’s membership in WSI is a work in progress. The visit by the WSI President marks an important milestone on the road of establishing the Kenya chapter of WSI.

WorldSkills international was founded in 1950 in Spain by individuals, not for profit membership association open to agencies or bodies which have a responsibility for promoting vocational education and training in their respective countries or regions.

WSI, which provides both a benchmark for high performance and an objective way to assess vocational education and training excellence, endeavors the Member States to pursue the following key objectives.

  1. inspires young people to develop a passion for skills and pursuing excellence, through competitions and promotions
  2. develop skills through global training standards, benchmarking systems, and enhancing industry engagement
  3. influence industry, government, and educators through cooperation and research — building a global platform of skills for all.
  4. WSI has built the confidence of millions of young people, empowering communities and fueling economies.