China funded training opportunities bridge skills gap in Kenya

Guo Ce (8th R, Front), economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy in Kenya, guests and students pose for a photo during an event to conduct an end of year evaluation of Chinese technical assistance in training and capacity development in Kenya, in Nairobi, Kenya, on Nov. 21, 2018. China has made significant contribution to help bridge skills gap in Kenya by offering training opportunities for the country's youth and civil servants, a Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu)

NAIROBI, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- China has made significant contribution to help bridge skills gap in Kenya by offering training opportunities for the country's youth and civil servants, a Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday.

Guo Ce, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy in Kenya, said that development of a highly trained workforce has been at the heart of cooperation between Beijing and the east Africa's largest economy.

"As one of the most promising resources of Kenya, human resource has always been an important area of deepening practical cooperation between China and Kenya," said Guo.

He spoke in Nairobi during an event to conduct an end of year evaluation of Chinese technical assistance in training and capacity development in Kenya.

Senior Kenyan officials attended the ceremony to take stock of China funded technical training opportunities that has benefited public servants of all ranks, students and local staff employed by companies from the Asian country.

Guo said that nearly 10,000 Kenyan government officials have visited China to participate in training seminars under the Foreign Aid Human Resources Training Program launched by the ministry of commerce in 2001.

"After studying in China, many officials have been promoted or transferred to more important posts, and a lot of people hope to continue their studies in China," said Guo.

He noted that China funded skills upgrade and vocational training programs have deepened friendship with Kenya while hastening the country's socio-economic transformation.

"We are willing to continue to explore more convenient and efficient training platforms and strengthen human resources cooperation with Kenya," said Guo.

Kenya is banking on r cooperation with China in the area of human resources development to modernize the public sector and boost service delivery.

Simon Angote, acting secretary of human resources division in the state department for public service, said that China funded skills upgrade for Kenyan civil servants has enhanced their competence in strategic areas like trade, energy, telecommunications, diplomacy and security.

"It is worth noting that the 2019 proposed bilateral (Kenya specific) short-term training programs (to be offered alongside the multilateral programs) focuses on supporting the government's big four agenda," said Angote.

He said that an evaluation undertaken by the government two years ago revealed a huge demand for Chinese scholarships by Kenyan public servants since they enhanced their performance.