Trades, Training, and Employment: Expanding the Horizons of Jitegemee's Vocational Students in Kenya

Jitegemee is a non-governmental organization that has provided support services for former street children in Machakos, Kenya since 2003. In particular, Jitegemees vocational training program works directly with dozens of youth in order to enable these students to secure their own sustainable livelihoods. Vocational students enroll in a rehabilitation course, a trade-choosing workshop, and an apprenticeship phase in order to become certified practitioners of a trade.  As the vocational program developed, Jitegemee became concerned that, because students consistently choose the same few trades, there was a risk of saturating the local market. The objective of this workshop was to conduct a market assessment of local trades and an evaluation of current and potential vocational opportunities available to Jitegemee students. The purpose of this research was also to address this issue at its source, determining why it is that students choose their trades, why they tend to choose the same one, and which career services could be provided to expand students‟ vocational opportunities.