Written by Rosemary Wachiye 2012-04-27 18:50:00 Read 1427 Times

Youth have been challenged to move out of the job seeking syndrome and enroll in Technical institutes to get technical knowledge that will make them entrepreneurs who may in the long run employ others.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with West Fm Chairman Matili Technical Training Institute Mr. Joseph Khaemba called upon the youth in Bungoma County to embrace job creativity after gaining skills from the available technical institutes in the County.

Unlike other counties, he said Bungoma County is well placed by having three Technical Training Institutes - Matili, Kisiwa and Sang’alo - which he challenged the youth to take advantage of to gain skills.

 “The skills gained from these institutions offer a bigger platform for the youth to be more of entrepreneurs and to be able to put up their own firms that create employment opportunities to other youth than to continue complaining over lack of employment,” said Mr.Khaemba (pictured left).

He stated that most youth fear banking services yet through banking and the stock market so they can be able to save their earnings that may earn them profits and dividends for them to get capital to improve their businesses and move away from the banking phobia.

Mr.Khaemba has appealed to the parents to focus on capacity building and their children’s education by making use of the available training resources in the institutes.

“Let us take advantage of the technical institutes and encourage our children to focus on training and not just to let them fail in life because of lack of knowledge,” said Mr.Khaemba.

He revealed that with the forthcoming devolved government, people should help develop their own counties by sending their children to institutions in those counties and get out of the trend of sending children to big cities for learning.

“Instead of having to spend money sending your children  to other far off towns to get education why not enroll them in the available institutions in the county to get the same education since what they offer there is not any different from what we offer here,” said Mr.Khaemba.

The Principal Matili Technical Institute Mr. Levi Alegwa revealed that among the 367 students enrolled in the institute 110 among them are female while 257 are male which proves that the notion that technical knowledge is meant for the boy child and not the girl child still exists.

“I want to call upon parents to move out of the belief that technical skills are for the male only because all skills cut across both genders depending on the interest of the child,” said Mr.Alegwa.

A building under construction at the Matili Institute by students from the institute. (Insert) The chairman of the institute Mr. Levi Alegwa.

He says the students are exposed to practical and role modeling from their tutors to be able to grasp the knowledge bestowed upon them bragging of some of the new buildings in the institute of being constructed by the civil and building engineering students.

Mr. Alegwa encouraged the community around the institute to take advantage of the availability of the institutions to learn the courses they offer that will enable them move out of poverty by being empowered with skills.

History of Matili Technical Institute

Matili Technical was set up in the year 1959 as a youth Centre by the Late Legendary Masinde Muliro in Kimilili area Bungoma North District with the intension of keeping youth busy and occupied.

In 1971 it was turned into a village polytechnic which in 1986 was converted into a Youth Polytechnic.

Later in April 2009 the Matili Youth Polytechnic was elevated to a Technical Institute mandated to offer Certificate and Diploma Courses with an aim of providing middle level man power to the nation to be able to produce highly skilled people that would be solution providers to the community.

Matili Technical like other Technical Institutions were created to offer education and training opportunities to the youth who did not qualify to get direct entries to the Public Universities.

The Institution that occupies 26 and ½ Acres of land, presently has 367 students enrolled among them 110 are female and 257 male and is looking forward to getting 600 more students in the forthcoming May 2012 intake.

Matili Technical Institute offers 4 major departmental courses and smaller courses under each;

1.     Mechanical and Automotive Engineering under which there is Mechanical Engineering, Welding and Fabrication, Motor vehicle Technology, Automotive Engineering and Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.

2.     Building, Civil and Electrical Engineering under which there is Electrical Engineering, Electrical wireman, Electronics, Building constriction, Plumbing, Carpentry and Joinery and Masonry.

3.     Textile and Clothing under which there is Tailoring and Dress making, Clothing Technology, Tannery and Leather work and Hairdressing and Beauty therapy.

4.     Business Studies and Information Technology under which there is Human Resources Management, Supplies Management, Community Development, Sales and Marketing, Computer Science, Information Technology and User packages.

The courses offered at the institution are in four major categories that include;

i)      Short term courses that last 3 to 6 months.

ii)     Artisan courses for class eight drop outs that last 2 years.

iii)    Craft courses for those who got D+ and above in form 4 lasting 2 years.

iv)    Diploma for those who attained c- and above in form 4 lasting 3 years.

 Challenges of infrastructure

Like any other institutions Matili Technical Institute faces challenges of infrastructure because of inadequate funding that calculates to lack of enough money to construct enough buildings forcing them to put up temporary classrooms to accommodate the demand.

Employment and gender parity

Matili Technical Institute offers employment opportunities to both gender, 19 teaching staff among them 7 female and 12 male and 16 non-teaching staff with 50% male and 50% female.

Economic opportunities

They offer economic opportunities to the community through offering employment to the members of the neighboring community, purchasing building materials from the nearby shops and by courtesy of being available in the area, it has improved the value of goods sold.

Despite all the good things offered it’s saddening that the locals don’t take advantage of the institution claiming that they are poor and cannot afford to fend for their children’s higher learning.

Similarly they have a belief that technical training is meant for the male and yet its not so, that’s why the institution has organized school outreach program and visits to the shopping centre to talk the people into taking their children for training.

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