Kenya
Project Goal
To reduce barriers to adolescent girls’ aged 14-18 in Kisumu, Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; to create equal participation in STEM education at the secondary school level; and to provide adolescent girls who are out of school with access to gender-responsive STEM training relevant to the labour market.
Project Backgrounder
The STEM Education for Empowerment Project (STEEP) is a four-year (2022-2026), $4M initiative led by Humber College and funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the Barrett Family Foundation. The project will be implemented in partnership with CAP Youth Empowerment Institute in Kenya and Hahujobs in Ethiopia. STEEP will equip adolescent girls aged 14-18 from low-income and vulnerable communities in Kenya and Ethiopia with the interest, skills and confidence to pursue studies and employment in STEM. The project’s approach will implement gender-responsive STEM education and empowerment training to break inequitable cycles that perpetuate gender imbalances in schools and employment.
Project Goal
To equip Kenyan youth with the skills and qualifications required to operate in the Big Four Agenda (Food Security, Affordable Housing, Manufacturing and Universal Healthcare) and Digital sectors to contribute to Kenya’s Vision 2030 of transforming Kenya into a middle-income country.
Project Backgrounder
Young Africa Works in Kenya: Youth Employability through TVET (Young Africa Works-Kenya-TVET) is a five-year partnership between Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) and the Mastercard Foundation and will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the private sector in Kenya. Under this program, Humber College leads the three-year project, Young Africa Works in Kenya-TVET-18, in partnership with Vancouver Island University (VIU) and Kenyan TVET institutions Sigalagala National Polytechnic (SNP) and Bondo Technical Training Institute (BTTI). The Humber-VIU team will support SNP and BTTI’s goals to build skills training programs under the TVET-18 sectors of focus, information and communications technology (ICT), engineering, electrical installation and industrial controls. The project will equip Kenyan youth with the skills and qualifications required to operate in the Big Four Agenda (Food Security, Affordable Housing, Manufacturing and Universal Healthcare) and Digital sectors to contribute to Kenya’s Vision 2030 of transforming Kenya into a middle-income country.
Project Goal
To implement a framework for recognition of prior learning (RPL) in Kenya, which will give at least 10,000 youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) access to 25 TVET institutions with certifications/credentials that recognize the skills and expertise developed outside of the formal education system.
Project Backgrounder
Young Africa Works-Kenya: Youth Employability through TVET (Young Africa Works in Kenya-TVET) is a 5-year partnership between Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) and the Mastercard Foundation and will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the private sector in Kenya. As a key component of the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, the program will strengthen the quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and systems in Kenya.
Within the Young Africa Works in Kenya-TVET initiative, the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA), Humber College, NorQuest College and Red River College will focus on giving RPL access to at least 10,000 Kenyan youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and the Jua Kali sector at the 25-program partner TVET institutions. Youth will have pathways to employment through training and work to recognize the skills they have acquired outside of the formal education system. RPL will increase the participation of young Kenyans, particularly women, in market-relevant skills training programs to ultimately increase the number of youths in dignified and fulfilling work in the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) Agricultural Transformation and Inclusive Growth; transforming the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) Economy; Housing and Settlement; Healthcare; and Digital Superhighway and Creative Economy.
Project Goal
To provide socio-economic empowerment by helping refugee women start businesses that allow artists in their communities to market their skills and talents to a global audience through digital entrepreneurial skills.
Project Backgrounder
Supported by the Fund for Innovation and Transformation (FIT) — a national program of the Inter-Council Network of Provincial and Regional Councils (ICN) made possible through funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and administered by the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC) — Humber College led the Entrepreneurship + Digital Livelihoods + Creative Arts: Socio-economic empowerment of women refugees in Kenya (EDC Kenya) project with implementation partner, CAP-Youth Empowerment Institute (CAPYEI). EDC Kenya was a 12-month (2021-2022) project that addressed three challenges: women’s access to livelihoods and entrepreneurship opportunities, opportunities to commercialize artistic talents, and overcoming obstacles posed by Covid-19. Humber and CAPYEI integrated digital entrepreneurship components in skills development courses and trained participants to utilize eCommerce marketplaces and showcase talents in creative arts. Prospective or current entrepreneurs from the refugee community established online businesses using digital tools, strategies, and business practices. This project advanced gender equality by allowing women and men to be self-sufficient, independent of geographic restrictions.
Project Goal
To equip Kenyan youth with the skills and qualifications required to compete in the country’s workforce and support the country’s vision of transforming into a middle-income country by 2030.
Project Backgrounder
Funded by Global Affairs Canada and managed by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), Kenya Education for Employment Program was a five-year initiative focused on strengthening and supporting technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Kenya through institutional partnerships between Canadian and Kenyan institutions KEFEP-02 was the consortium led by Humber College in partnership with Vancouver Island University, Durham College and Selkirk College, to equip Kenyan youth at Kisii National Polytechnic, The Kisumu National Polytechnic and Sigalagala National Polytechnic with the skills and qualifications required to compete in the country’s workforce and support the country’s vision of transforming into a middle-income country by 2030.
Major Achievements
- Established a Gender Committee, Environmental Club and an Industry Advisory Committee at each national polytechnic
- Developed the first operational breastfeeding facility at a polytechnic in Kenya (Sigalagala National Polytechnic)
- Planted 1,000+ trees at the national polytechnics, neighbouring institutions and in the community
- Established Teaching and Learning Centres at partnering Kenyan institutions
- Launched seven new courses at three national polytechnics
- 120 hours of technical training for the Programmable Logic Controller course at SNP and TKNP for trainers
- 80 hours of training across 10 days for Hydraulic and Pneumatic systems and Steam Turbine training
- 80 hours across 10 days of Solar PV training
- 880 trainees (female and male) trained by the end of KEFEP-02
Project Goal
To amplify the number of youths in dignified and fulfilling work in the Big Four Agenda (Food Security, Affordable Housing, Manufacturing and Universal Healthcare) and Digital Sectors.
Project Backgrounder
Young Africa Works in Kenya: Youth Employability through TVET (Young Africa Works-Kenya-TVET) was a one-year partnership between Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) and the Mastercard Foundation and will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the private sector in Kenya. Under this program, Humber College led the one-year Young Africa Works in Kenya-TVET-07 project with supporting institutions Vancouver Island University (VIU) and Durham College. The Canadian consortium harnessed the capacity of Kenya polytechnics to develop industry-responsive training programs to produce market-driven graduates and create pathways to employment. As a result, project partners increased the participation of young Kenyans, particularly women, at The Kisumu National Polytechnic (TKNP), Sigalagala National Polytechnic (SNP) and Kisii National Polytechnic (KNP) in market-relevant skills training programs to amplify the number of youths in dignified and fulfilling work in the Big Four Agenda (Food Security, Affordable Housing, Manufacturing and Universal Healthcare) and Digital Sectors.
Major Achievements
- Three new CBET (competency-based education and training) courses launched in Food Production, ICT and Electrical Installation
- Three marketing plans were created to launch the new courses
- A sustainable model of CBET curriculum developed and implemented within the three Kenyan national polytechnics
- Delivered, administered and supported curriculum development and training at the three Kenyan national polytechnics at a distance
- 48 male and 43 female trainers trained in gender-sensitive CBET methodology, technical skills and environmental awareness at the Kenyan institutions
- A roundtable discussion group was established to identify institution-wide needs related to building awareness of gender equality activities/supports, women’s health needs/nursing mothers and exchanging ideas about campus services/policies
- Technical training in Java script, JavaFX, computer programming, graphic design and mobile application
- Three Industry Advisory committees launched at the institutions
- Procured new equipment for the three courses
Tanzania
Project Goal
To increase participation rates among women and adolescent girls in skills training programs and improve access to business, skills, and gender and human rights training in their communities.
Project Backgrounder
The ESP-04: Empowerment Through Skills Program in Tanzania is a seven-year (2021-2028) initiative focuses on strengthening alternative pathways to education and employment for women and adolescent girls in Tanzania. The project is funded by the Government of Canada and managed by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), in close collaboration with the Tanzanian Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) through the Department of Technical and Vocational Training (DTVET). Humber College leads the ESP-04 project with Kiwanda Folk Development College and Kasulu Folk Development College, in partnership with Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (CSTJ) and Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB). Two Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), Taarifa na Maarifa and ZICOSAD will support the FDCs (Folk Development Colleges) to strengthen the project’s community-level implementation. The project aims to increase participation rates among women and adolescent girls in skills training programs and improve access to business, skills, and gender and human rights training in their communities. The consortium will develop and deliver competency-based education and training (CBET), gender-sensitive pedagogy embedding an environmentally sustainable design and entrepreneurial and essential life skills to build the capacity of the FDCs for women’s social and economic empowerment.
