The Apprentice Program Transforming Kenya’s Labor Market

^{Produced by the Hilti Foundation | August 13, 2024}

From hardship to hope

Life has not always been kind to Diba Boru. After losing his parents, he was separated from his siblings and raised in an orphanage in one of Kenya’s poorest regions.

Despite his circumstances, Diba remained engaged and hardworking. He earned a scholarship to a secondary school, and his test scores ranked in the top four percent countrywide. However, without funding, hopes of attending university were slim. Then he heard about PropelA, an apprenticeship program funded by the Hilti Foundation.

For years, Diba drifted between jobs, barely earning enough to survive. PropelA gave him the opportunity to take a two-year course to become an electrician, learning both in the classroom and the workplace. Better still, he would be paid while he learned.

Apprentice Diba Godana Boru, 25, at a new building on General Mathenge drive in downtown Nairobi, whose electricals are contracted to Mehta Electrical, the largest electrical contractor in the region, May 14, 2024.

Diba is an orphan who grew up in a children's home. He was awarded a scholarship to go to a high school, but had to drop out of university opportunity due to lack of school fees.

PropelA program is a lighthouse project implemented by Swisscontact, funded by Hilti Foundation, and trained at Don Bosco Boys' Town in Nairobi. The first cohort of PropelA apprentices were 100 and were admitted in 2022 (78 male and 22 female apprentices). The application is open to young men and women who are passionate about plumbing and electrical trades. They must have completed secondary school and are aged 18-30.

The program is aimed at economic empowerment, providing rural population and the younger generation in the cities of East African countries with the opportunity to earn their living by giving them training of the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods, to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle class.

Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com for Hilti Foundation

Apprentice Diba Godana Boru, 25, with colleagues laying electrical cables at a new building on General Mathenge drive in downtown Nairobi, whose electricals are contracted to Mehta Electrical, the largest electrical contractor in the region, May 14, 2024.

Diba is an orphan who grew up in a children's home. He was awarded a scholarship to go to a high school, but had to drop out of university opportunity due to lack of school fees.

PropelA program is a lighthouse project implemented by Swisscontact, funded by Hilti Foundation, and trained at Don Bosco Boys' Town in Nairobi. The first cohort of PropelA apprentices were 100 and were admitted in 2022 (78 male and 22 female apprentices). The application is open to young men and women who are passionate about plumbing and electrical trades. They must have completed secondary school and are aged 18-30.

The program is aimed at economic empowerment, providing rural population and the younger generation in the cities of East African countries with the opportunity to earn their living by giving them training of the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods, to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle class.

Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com for Hilti Foundation

Life-changing program

The PropelA program has transformed Diba’s fortunes and is also transformative for Kenya, where an overemphasis on theory, often outdated, has led to a skilled labor shortage. This has hindered crucial sectors, like construction, in Africa.

Determined to address this need, the Hilti Foundation teamed up with Swisscontact to launch PropelA, an employer-led apprenticeship program that trains young electricians and plumbers in Kenya.

Thanks to this program, 220 young Kenyans like Diba, often from underprivileged backgrounds, can build self-sufficient and economically independent lives.

“It has been a life-changing opportunity for me thanks to an education system that genuinely seems unique,” says Diba. He spends one week a month training at an institute and the remaining time working with the company that sponsors him.

Now in its second year, the program has gained support from government officials and several partner companies. With affordable housing being a priority for successive Kenyan presidents, both the public and private sectors recognize the need for more skilled labor to attain this goal.

First year plumbing apprentices in the PropelA dual apprentice program, implemented by Swisscontact, funded by Hilti Foundation, and trained at Don Bosco Boys' Town in Nairobi, Kenya, May 14, 2024.

PropelA program is a lighthouse project is about economic empowerment, aimed at providing rural population and the younger generation in the cities of East African countries with the opportunity to earn their living by giving them training of the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods, to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle class.

The first cohort of 100 was admitted in 2022 with 78 male and 22 female apprentices. Application is open to young men and women who are passionate about plumbing and electrical trades. They must have completed secondary school and are aged 18-30.

PropelA dual apprentice program has been successfully implemented with strong commitment from both the government and the private sector where 40 leading Kenyan plumbing and electrical companies have agreed to employ a first cohort of 250 trainees, who will graduate with a national diploma after two years of training through Don Bosco, Kenya.

Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com for Hilti Foundation
Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com for Hilti Foundation

Aston Mwendwa, 20, is in his second year of the PropelA dual apprentice program, currently he is in placement at Mehta Electricals, one of the 40 leading Kenyan plumbing and electrical companies which have agreed to employ a first cohort of 250 trainees, May 14, 2024.

Aston qualified for university but was not able to attend due to financial constraints. He has strong interest in the electrical and software fields, and wants to expand his knowledge and gain industry skills.

PropelA program is a lighthouse project implemented by Swisscontact, funded by Hilti Foundation, and trained at Don Bosco Boys' Town in Nairobi, and is about economic empowerment aimed at providing rural population and the younger generation in the cities of East African countries with the opportunity to earn their living by giving them training of the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods, to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle class.

Aston is part of the first cohort of 100 that was admitted in 2022 (78 male and 22 female apprentices). The application is open to young men and women who are passionate about plumbing and electrical trades. They must have completed secondary school and are aged 18-30.
Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com for Hilti Foundation

We want to revolutionize the vocational education system in Kenya and provide young people with the essential training they need to build sustainable careers. As companies recognize the value of this program, we believe it will set a standard that can be replicated in other industries and professions, fostering widespread economic growth and opportunity.

Werner Wallner
CEO of the Hilti Foundation

Building long-term careers

It has therefore been essential to develop a curriculum that meets the private sector’s needs. The people responsible for PropelA have adapted the Swiss vocational curriculum, winning approval and certification from policy makers. The result has been groundbreaking.

“Here I have been able to have a proper relationship with each student,” says Veroline Amadi, program trainer. “Dual education is solving the needs of the country, and what we are doing is becoming a benchmarking institution for others to follow.”

The current challenge is upscaling the program. PropelA aims to enroll 1,000 students across two schools. The hope is that other sectors of the Kenyan economy, and other countries, will adopt similar projects. If they do, Veroline Amadi has no doubt that the impact will be profound.

Moving forward, more young people like Diba can find hope no matter their circumstances.

PropelA electrical apprentice Lucy Kibande, 22, with trainer Verolyne Achieng during a PropelA project demo at Don Bosco in Nairobi, Kenya, May 29, 2024.

PropelA program is a lighthouse project is about economic empowerment, aimed at providing rural population and the younger generation in the cities of East African countries with the opportunity to earn their living by giving them training of the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods, to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle class.

PropelA dual apprentice program is funded by Hilti Foundation and implemented by partner Swisscontact. It has been successfully implemented with strong commitment from both the government and the private sector where 40 leading Kenyan plumbing and electrical companies have agreed to employ a first cohort of 250 trainees, who will graduate with a national diploma after two years of training through Don Bosco, Kenya.

Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com

Electrical apprentices in the field at a building site in Nairobi contracted to Mehta Electricals, talk with Hilti Foundation CEO Werner Wallner and Chairman Matthias Gillner, and Swisscontact Country Director Lillian Mwai, during Hilti Foundation visit to PropelA dual apprenticeship program in Nairobi, Kenya, funded by Hilti Foundation, implemented by Swisscontact, May 14, 2024.

PropelA program is a lighthouse project is about economic empowerment, aimed at providing rural population and the younger generation in the cities of East African countries with the opportunity to earn their living by giving them training of the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods, to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle class.

PropelA dual apprentice program is funded by Hilti Foundation and implemented by partner Swisscontact. It has been successfully implemented with strong commitment from both the government and the private sector where 40 leading Kenyan plumbing and electrical companies have agreed to employ a first cohort of 250 trainees, who will graduate with a national diploma after two years of training through Don Bosco, Kenya.

Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com

Plumbing apprentices at Don Bosco Boys Town, Nairobi Kenya, who are taking part in the dual apprenticeship PropelA program funded by Hilti Foundation, implemented by Swisscontact, May 13, 2024.

PropelA program is a lighthouse project is about economic empowerment, aimed at providing rural population and the younger generation in the cities of East African countries with the opportunity to earn their living by giving them training of the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods, to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle class.

PropelA dual apprentice program is funded by Hilti Foundation and implemented by partner Swisscontact. It has been successfully implemented with strong commitment from both the government and the private sector where 40 leading Kenyan plumbing and electrical companies have agreed to employ a first cohort of 250 trainees, who will graduate with a national diploma after two years of training through Don Bosco, Kenya.

Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com

Electrical apprentices participating in the PropelA dual apprenticeship program, have a demo by trainer Verolyne Achieng, at Don Bosco Boys Town, Nairobi Kenya. The PropelA program is trained at Don Bosco, funded by Hilti Foundation, and implemented by Swisscontact, May 29, 2024.

PropelA program is a lighthouse project is about economic empowerment, aimed at providing rural population and the younger generation in the cities of East African countries with the opportunity to earn their living by giving them training of the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods, to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle class.

PropelA dual apprentice program has been successfully implemented with strong commitment from both the government and the private sector where 40 leading Kenyan plumbing and electrical companies have agreed to employ a first cohort of 250 trainees, who will graduate with a national diploma after two years of training through Don Bosco, Kenya.

Photography Georgina Goodwin www.georginagoodwin.com

The PropelA project in numbers

2 - The number of years an apprenticeship course lasts
35 - The number of partner companies sponsoring apprentices in the program
220 - The number of apprentices recruited in the first two years
2022 - The year the PropelA project began
2025 - The year the pilot phase ends
1,000 - The number of apprentices enrolled by the end of the pilot phase

The Hilti Foundation’s Focus Area Economic Empowerment

Economic empowerment is about providing people with the opportunity to learn the skills they need to improve their economic prospects and sustain their livelihoods. Focusing on both the rural population and the younger generation in the cities of various East African countries, the Hilti Foundation is helping people to escape poverty.

- Enterprise development: Together with our partners, we establish professional training and coaching models to transform microenterprises into professional businesses. Vocational training: This initiative aims to change training patterns for occupations in the construction sector by establishing public-private partnerships between local companies, relevant business associations, training institutions and the government.

Learn out more about PropelA, the Hilti Foundation and their partner Swisscontact.

The Apprentice Program Transforming Kenya’s Labor Market

The PropelA project in numbers

The Hilti Foundation’s Focus Area Economic Empowerment

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