Skills development will spur industry excellence
As more industries shift to automation and artificial intelligence, the demand for the right mix of skill, technical know-how and soft skills continues to rise.
Human capital development is central to employability and sustainable enterprise development within Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 on decent work and economic growth.
This is more so crucial in an era where automation is expected to reduce manual labour.
While industrial employment has continued to drop in high-income economies such as Spain and Portugal over the last decade, it continues to grow in East Asia.
To achieve this, the Asian countries combined new technology and highly-skilled young workers into the labour market and in turn, their manufacturing production increased.
Unemployment remains a daunting challenge in Kenya and according to the Trading Economics, it stood at 9.3 per cent in 2018.
Whilst this rate has decreased by 2.2 per cent compared to 2017, the World Bank’s Kenya Social Protection and Job Programmes Public Expenditure Review Report states that we are not producing sufficient jobs to match the growing population entering the job market.
According to the report, some nine million individuals are expected to enter the labour force between 2015 and 2025. This means we have to create an average of 900,000 jobs per year.
In 2018, our economy created 840, 600 new jobs. Of these, the formal sector only accounted for 16.4 per cent, according to Kenya Economic Survey 2019.
Through the Big Four agenda, the manufacturing sector is expected to create a million jobs and increase the contribution of the sector to GDP to 15 per cent by 2022.
Among the Big Four agenda pillars, manufacturing is the only one that is guaranteed to create jobs and enhance its contribution to GDP in the short to medium term.
While there is an increasing and significant demand for skilled workers in the country, there is a mismatch between the skills needed by industry and skills taught in higher institutions of learning.
Labour productivity is essential for manufacturing competitiveness. Lack of relevant skills and competencies can be detrimental to the industry in terms of production and wastage.
Investing in human capital should be a priority if we are to make the most of technological advancements and the economic opportunities it presents.
Skills development not only stimulates the creation of a sustainable development process, but it also contributes to the transition from the informal to the formal economy.
Kenya has invigorated efforts towards bridging the skills gap through various initiatives such as the reforms in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector and implementation of Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) curriculum in the desire to establish an intentionally competitive workforce.
The manufacturing industry, too, is keen on promoting youth employment. In 2017, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers launched its TVET programme geared towards improving access to jobs and economic opportunities for the youth through practical training of TVET graduates.
In the second phase of the programme, which kicked off at the beginning of the year, manufacturers provide trainees with on-the-job training during their industrial attachment period.
This experience ensures technical institutions produce a globally competitive workforce that adapts to new work practices and technologies.
Technological advancements have the potential to create new and high-quality jobs, improve the job quality and productivity of the existing work of the employees.
Hence, we must invest in our human capital and support the existing workforce, by training and equipping them with new skills to match the current industry demands.
Besides enhancing excellence in manufacturing production, the practice will also help industries move up the value chain. —The writer is the CEO of Kenya Association of Manufacturers. [email protected]
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