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United Nations Environment Programme
  • Overview
  • Background

Please join us for the national green Jobs and skills development workshop in Kenya

Date:  3 May, 2024

To register, click here

(Further information will be shared with confirmed participants.)

 

Overview

The Kenyan Government is partnering with Green Jobs for Youth pact partners, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through the GO4SDGs initiative,  and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) together with Jacob’s Ladder Africa (JLA) to coordinate the first-ever Kenya National Green Jobs and Skills Development Workshop on May 3.

The overarching goal of the National Workshop is to aggregate the efforts by key stakeholders from the private and public sectors, development partners, youth-led organisations, policymakers, and research institutions to take stock of existing policies and their implementation to date, showcase the best practices, and collaboratively develop actionable targets to enable the development of a legislative framework aimed at advancing the opportunities in green jobs and green skills development for youth in the country.

In preparation for the workshop, extensive virtual and in-person consultations have been held, organised in three main workstreams:

  • Skills development: exploring the role of education at various levels in enhancing preparedness for green jobs.
  • enterprise development: looking at the role of the private and public sectors in creating opportunities for green job creation.
  • Finance: exploring the contribution by NGOs, donors, and various financial institutions in funding green jobs and skilling.

Over 70 participants were engaged in the consultations, which were held both virtually and in person. The discussions identified several key issues, including challenges in skills development and workforce capacity, a lack of clarity and coordination in green financing, policy gaps, and implementation inconsistencies. Additionally, the recommendations that were proposed include promoting coordination and information sharing among stakeholders, investing in skills development and capacity building, fostering partnerships and collaboration in green financing, and enterprise development, among others. These findings and recommendations from the consultations will be presented at the upcoming national workshop aimed at strengthening the draft legislation on green jobs and green skills.

In addition, a high-level consultation was held between 6 principal secretaries and over 100 high level participants from the education, finance, and development sectors on April 17, 2024, focusing on coordinating efforts towards green job creation and skills development.

The National Green Jobs and Skills Development Workshop will bring together stakeholders from government, academia, the private sector, finance, and youth-led groups working in the green economy in the country.

Final agenda will be availed later. 

 

Approximately 75% of Kenya's population is under the age of thirty. However, due to high unemployment, this demographic's potential is underutilized. Addressing youth issues such as education, employment, and social inclusion is critical for Kenya's long-term development and economic growth.

As stated in the Kenya Vision 2030, “Kenya aims to transform into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment.”. Considerable progress towards this vision has been made, but this aspiration is threatened by high levels of unemployment, food insecurity, severe weather conditions due to climate change, and high levels of poverty.

To bridge the gap, the government must create new jobs while safeguarding the environment. A key obstacle is the skills mismatch between graduates and industry needs. Universities and vocational institutes must therefore adapt to equip youth with the technical and innovative skills required for a green, low-carbon economy. This can be achieved through collaboration between educators, industry, and the government.

In addition to this, there is a need to harness the existing instruments, ranging from strategies, studies to policies in a bid to accelerate implementation. The collective objective of green skills development and job creation can be achieved through better coordination amongst the various players and close monitoring of the outcome and impact of various interventions.

The circular economy, also known as the green economy, has emerged as an effective solution for addressing climate change, economic inequalities, and creating decent jobs in order to achieve inclusive economic transformation. It is estimated that the circular economy will create a shift of almost 80 million jobs globally.

Realizing these green jobs requires a comprehensive approach that involves strong government policies, partnerships with the private sector, support for green education and skills development, continuous youth engagement, and support for green entrepreneurship. Additionally, alignment with regional and global policies is essential to promoting a collective effort towards sustainable development.

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