Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), KCB foundation and Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) are in partnership over a programme aimed at training and empowering the youth with skills that will enable them to secure overseas jobs as seafarers.
ALM gathered that about 600 youth are set to benefit from the three-year skill acquisition programme.
Also, a total of Sh155 million has been set aside to be disbursed to the youth as bursaries to enable them to avail training opportunities for the period of three years commencing 2023 depending on their qualifications.
The State Department for Shipping and Maritime Principal Secretary, Nancy Karigithu revealed this in an interview with the Press in Kenya.
She added, “During this event, the youth receive safety training in shipping and maritime as well as avail unsecured loan products from KCB bank to secure visa documentation, embarkation costs and other travel logistics.
“We also acknowledge the need for more private-public partnerships to enable the youth to take advantage of available maritime opportunities.
“We will play our role in licensing the qualified youth following their training and thereafter oversee their transition into the maritime industry and overall welfare. Given our youthful population we aim to position the country as a hub for maritime vessels across the globe.
“The youth will be trained in accredited technical vocational training institutions vetted by Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), Minority groups, Persons Living With Disability (PLWDs) and women are a key consideration for the opportunities.
“There is an unemployment crisis in the country as we have a huge bulge of young people who are not getting into employment but the government is doing the best to assist you in achieving your goals. We look at this crisis, not as a challenge but an opportunity for us to be innovative and get into other areas of production such as tapping into the maritime sector to increase our Gross Domestic product (GDP),”
Further, the KCB Director of Retail Annastacia Kimtai said, “Efforts are in line with KCB’s commitment to tackling youth unemployment through a sustainable approach focused on providing opportunities for the youth to thrive.
“Our end goal is to unlock access to seafarers’ jobs in the international maritime fleets for our youth and provide a bridge to finance through joint efforts with KMA and KCB foundation. As a local bank with global solutions, our intention is to continually provide solutions that are geared towards uplifting the livelihoods of our young people.”
