Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) says 30 percent of the first cohort of its youth technology fellowship have secured jobs, as the State-owned firm seeks to bridge the gap between graduate skills and employer needs.
The Inuka Tech Fellowship, run by the KPC Foundation with training partner Power Learn Project (PLP), admitted 30 fellows from more than 1,000 applicants for its inaugural six-month programme.
“The programme boasts a 30 percent absorption rate of trainees into gainful employment,” said Mumbi Ndung’u, PLP’s co-founder and executive director.
The fellows visited KPC’s headquarters in Nairobi on Tuesday, where they toured the company’s operations and met members of its leadership team.
The programme is structured as an in-person apprenticeship, combining technical training with workplace simulations, mentorship and peer learning.
Fellows are trained in Python, machine learning, dashboard development, automation tools and data storytelling, and apply the skills to problems in energy, fintech, healthcare, logistics, retail and the public sector.
KPC Foundation Manager Rachel Gathoni said the fellowship was designed to address a mismatch between what employers want and what jobseekers offer.
“Employers are saying, ‘We can’t find the right people,’ while graduates are saying, ‘There are no job opportunities.’ This is where we come in; we assess the gap and try to fill it through these programmes,” Ms Gathoni said.
Unlike conventional training, the curriculum is shaped by employer demand, with the programme first identifying skills gaps in the market before tailoring content to fill them.
“The market informs the curriculum; students are trained, and thereafter they go for attachment and secure jobs,” Ms Gathoni said.
As part of the programme, the fellows took part in a hackathon at iHub in Lavington, Nairobi, where teams built digital tools to help the KPC Foundation manage its programmes, beneficiary data, reporting and impact tracking.
Half of the fellows in the first cohort are women, in a sector where female representation has historically lagged.
On completion, fellows are lined up for roles including fibre optic technician, operational data analyst, business intelligence analyst, energy analytics specialist, supply chain analyst and predictive analytics engineer through PLP’s Talent Hub.
The programme also offers global certification and masterclasses.
The KPC Foundation, the firm’s philanthropic arm, was set up in 2016 and registered as a charitable trust in 2023. KPC commits at least one percent of its profits to community programmes.
The foundation said it is seeking partners in finance, agriculture and technology to expand the fellowship to more young people.
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