YOUTH INSIGHTS BRIEF

What does the Kenya-Germany Skills Partnership mean for the future of education, workforce development and youth employment in Kenya?

A reflection from the 4th Skill up Africa Summit • World Youth Skills Day 2026

Dr. Irene Kiarie
Education & Youth Development Specialist

THE CENTRAL QUESTION
What if the real opportunity in the Kenya–Germany skills partnership is not simply sending more young people abroad, but building a Kenyan education and skills system that produces people who can compete, create, innovate and work anywhere?

Executive Summary

On World Youth Skills Day 2026, I attended the 4th Skill Up Africa Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), where government, industry, development partners, educators and young people gathered around the future of skills and employment in Kenya. The summit provided a useful lens through which to examine the growing Kenya-Germany skills partnership and what it could mean for Kenya’s education and workforce systems.

Three policy instruments were highlighted at the summit: the National Strategy on Green Skills and Jobs in Kenya 2026-2031, the National Policy on Business Process Outsourcing, and the National Strategy for the Transformation of the Informal Economy. Together, these initiatives point to a broader policy shift: Kenya is increasingly asking not only how to train young people, but how to connect training with industry, enterprise, technology and actual opportunities.

The Kenya-Germany relationship adds an international dimension to this shift. German Ambassador Sebastian Groth highlighted cooperation on technical training, workplace-based learning and safe labour mobility as ways of connecting education more directly with industry. The ambition should therefore extend beyond individual mobility to the institutions, employers and training systems that make skills productive.

This brief argues that the partnership should be understood as a school-to-work and skills-to-production agenda rather than simply a pathway to jobs in Germany. Its long-term value to Kenya will depend on whether it strengthens TVET and higher education, expands work-based learning, improves recognition of competence, responds to employer demand, supports local production and entrepreneurship, and prepares young people for both local and global labour markets.

KEY MESSAGE
Kenya’s skills challenge is not only a shortage of jobs or a shortage of graduates. It is a mismatch between learning, competence, workplace experience, industry demand and the country’s productive capacity. The Kenya–Germany partnership offers an opportunity to close that gap—but only if mobility is matched by stronger institutions and local economic opportunity.

1. From a Skills Summit to a Bigger Education Question

The 4th Skill Up Africa Summit was more than a conversation about employability. It brought together several parts of the system that are often discussed separately: education and training, employers, government policy, international cooperation, youth employment, green transition, digital services and the informal economy. That convergence matters.

The summit’s policy announcements reflected this wider agenda. The National Strategy on Green Skills and Jobs seeks to prepare workers for opportunities arising from the green transition; the BPO policy responds to opportunities in digital and internationally traded services; and the strategy for transforming the informal economy addresses the skills and livelihoods of a large part of Kenya’s workforce.

The central question emerging from these developments is therefore not simply: How can more young Kenyans get jobs? It is: How can Kenya build an education and workforce development system that connects learning to productive work, enterprise and economic transformation?

2. What the Kenya–Germany Skills Partnership Signals

The Kenya–Germany relationship provides a practical example of how international cooperation can connect education, industry and labour markets. Ambassador Sebastian Groth pointed to technical training, workplace-based learning and safe labour mobility as areas of cooperation. He also stressed the importance of investing not only in individual training, but in institutions and employer partnerships that enable skills to translate into real opportunities.

International labour mobility can easily be reduced to a simple narrative: Kenyan youth are trained, then leave for jobs abroad. A more strategic interpretation is possible. Mobility can become one component of a wider skills ecosystem in which young people acquire competence, workplace experience, international exposure and professional networks, while Kenya simultaneously strengthens its own training institutions, industries and productive capacity.

The broader economic relationship also matters. Public reporting has put the number of German companies operating in Kenya at around 120. This presence creates a potential platform for stronger employer-led training, apprenticeships, technology transfer, local value addition and industry–education partnerships.

A STRATEGIC SHIFT
The goal should not be to prepare young people only to leave Kenya. It should be to prepare them to be globally employable while making Kenya itself a stronger place to work, innovate, manufacture and build enterprises.

3. Green Skills Are Becoming Core Workforce Skills

The phrase ‘green skills’ can sound like a narrow environmental concept. In reality, it cuts across sectors. Green skills include the technical, digital and professional capabilities needed to support renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency, e-mobility, circular production, resource efficiency, climate adaptation and other forms of sustainable economic activity.

For Kenyan youth, green skills should not be treated as a separate career lane reserved for environmental specialists. A young person studying electrical engineering, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, ICT, transport or business can increasingly add a green dimension to that profession.

Sector	Examples of green / future skills	Potential opportunity
Energy	Solar PV, energy efficiency, battery systems, smart energy	Renewable energy installation, maintenance and enterprise
Agriculture	Climate-smart farming, irrigation, precision agriculture	Agritech, sustainable production and value addition
Construction	Energy-efficient buildings, sustainable materials, HVAC	Green construction and building services
Manufacturing	Resource efficiency, automation, circular production	Local manufacturing and industrial upgrading
Transport	E-mobility, charging systems, efficient logistics	Emerging mobility and transport services
Digital	Data, GIS, AI and digital tools for sustainability	Climate data, smart systems and digital services

Kenya’s green skills agenda is therefore also an industrial and education agenda. It asks training institutions to anticipate emerging sectors, employers to participate in curriculum and workplace learning, and young people to see technical competence as a foundation for both employment and enterprise.

4. The Skills Mismatch: Why Graduates and Employers Can Both Be Right

One of the most important insights from the summit is the apparent contradiction between youth unemployment and employer reports of skills shortages. Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) Executive Director and CEO Jacqueline Mugo noted that companies can struggle to fill positions even while qualified young people struggle to find work.

An FKE survey of about 700 enterprises conducted in 2025 found gaps in technical, digital and interpersonal skills. Nearly 60% of respondents expressed a preference for technically skilled workers.

THE REAL PROBLEM

A qualification can show that someone completed a programme. It does not automatically demonstrate that the person can perform a task in a real workplace, use modern equipment, solve problems, communicate professionally or adapt to changing technology.

This is why the summit’s emphasis on workplace-based learning matters. Internships, apprenticeships and industrial attachments are most valuable when they are structured learning experiences with clear competencies, supervision and meaningful work—not simply short periods spent at a workplace.

5. From Employability to Production: A More Ambitious Goal for Kenyan Youth

Perhaps one of the most important messages for Kenya’s education system is that skills should not be viewed only as a ticket into employment. Principal Secretary for TVET Dr Esther Muoria challenged young Kenyans to consider how they could produce locally some of the goods, components and technologies that Kenya currently imports.

This reframes the question from “How do I get a job?” to “What can I make, solve or build?”

That distinction is critical for youth development. A skills system that produces only job seekers may struggle to absorb growing cohorts of graduates. A skills system that also develops innovators, technicians, entrepreneurs and manufacturers can contribute to job creation itself.

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR TVET
TVET can become more than a route for students who do not pursue university. It can become a strategic engine for industrialisation, local production, technology commercialisation, green transition and entrepreneurship.

6. What This Means for the Future of Education in Kenya

Move from curriculum delivery to labour-market relevance: Institutions need current information on what employers and emerging sectors require. Curriculum review should be connected to labour-market intelligence, industry input and technological change.

Make workplace learning a core part of education: Industrial attachments, internships and apprenticeships should be treated as structured learning pathways with defined competencies and assessment-not optional add-ons.

Strengthen technical and digital competence together: Technical workers increasingly need digital literacy, data skills and the ability to work with automation and smart systems. Digital competence should complement, not replace, hands-on expertise.

Recognise competence wherever it is acquired: People develop valuable skills in workshops, farms, family businesses and informal enterprises. Recognition of prior learning can make these competencies visible, portable and easier to build upon.

Prepare learners for both employment and enterprise: Education should equip young people not only to apply for jobs but also to identify problems, develop products, build services and create enterprises.

Give young people a voice in the system: Young people should participate in curriculum conversations, training evaluations and decisions about employment and enterprise support. Systems designed for youth should be built with youth.

7. What Kenyan Youth Can Do Now

· Build one strong technical or professional skill and add digital competence to it.

· Look for practical experience - internships, apprenticeships, projects, volunteering, enterprise work or supervised industry exposure.

· Learn how your chosen sector is being transformed by climate change, digitalisation, automation and new technologies.

· Develop communication, teamwork, problem-solving, professionalism and adaptability alongside technical competence.

· Consider German language learning if Germany is part of your career plan, but do not confuse language ability with employability; the underlying technical competence still matters.

· Build a portfolio that demonstrates what you can do: projects, prototypes, case studies, practical work, certifications and evidence of problem-solving.

· Look beyond migration. Ask what skills can help you build a business, produce locally, provide services or solve a Kenyan problem.

8. What Institutions and Policymakers Should Consider

Stakeholder	Priority action
Government	Use labour-market intelligence to align training investment with emerging sectors; track outcomes beyond enrolment and graduation.
TVET institutions	Expand employer partnerships, modernise equipment, strengthen workplace learning and embed entrepreneurship and green skills.
Universities	Connect academic programmes with industry, emerging technologies, applied research and employability; strengthen pathways into enterprise.
Employers	Move from asking for ‘job-ready’ graduates to actively participating in training, apprenticeships, mentoring and workplace learning.
Development partners	Invest in systems and institutions as well as individual trainees, including equipment, curriculum, certification, labour-market data and employer networks.
Youth organisations	Create mechanisms for young people to contribute to policy design, curriculum reviews and assessment of skills programmes.

9. Conclusion: Beyond Jobs in Germany

The Kenya–Germany skills partnership comes at an important moment for Kenya. The country is simultaneously reforming education, expanding TVET, pursuing a green transition, promoting digital services and confronting persistent youth unemployment. The partnership provides a practical opportunity to connect these agendas.

But the measure of success should not be the number of young people who obtain jobs abroad alone. Success should also be visible in stronger Kenyan institutions, better workplace learning, internationally credible competencies, more productive industries, local manufacturing, new enterprises and young people who can move confidently between education, work and entrepreneurship.

Kenya should therefore pursue a dual ambition: prepare young people for global opportunities while strengthening their ability to create value at home.

The deeper lesson from the Skill Up Africa Summit is that the education-to-employment pipeline cannot be fixed by education institutions alone. Government, employers, training institutions, development partners and young people must share responsibility for building it.

A FINAL REFLECTION
The future of youth employment will not be secured by producing more graduates alone. It will be secured when learning meets practice, skills meet industry, competence meets opportunity, and young people are equipped not only to seek work—but to create value.

About the Author

Dr. Irene Kiarie is an Education and Youth Development Specialist with over 15 years of experience in education and teaching, with interests in youth employability, school-to-work transitions, competency-based education, future skills and education systems. Through Youth Insights, she explores how changes in education, skills and labour markets affect Kenyan youth and the institutions that prepare them for the future.

Publication Note

This brief is an independent analysis informed by observations from the 4th Skill Up Africa Summit and publicly available information from the United Nations in Kenya and other cited sources. It is intended to stimulate evidence-informed discussion and does not represent the official position of the Government of Kenya, the Government of Germany, the United Nations, or any other institution mentioned.

Sources and Further Reading

[1] United Nations in Kenya (2026). Kenya strengthens practical path at the centre of youth employment. 15 July 2026. https://kenya.un.org/en/319479-kenya-strengthens-practical-path-centre-youth-employment

[2] United Nations in Kenya. Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. https://kenya.un.org/en/sdgs/8/key-activities

[3] United Nations in Kenya. Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education. https://kenya.un.org/en/sdgs/4/key-activities

[4] The Star (2025). Jobs in Germany up for grabs, says ambassador. 14 August 2025. https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/big-read/2025-08-14-jobs-in-germany-up-for-grabs-says-ambassador

[5] Citizen Digital (2023). Josef Seibel brings German quality Shoes to Kenya. 28 January 2023. https://citizen.digital/news/josef-seibel-brings-german-quality-shoes-to-kenya-n313394