New initiative to bridge skills gap in painting industry launched

A group of painters who have benefitted from MK Alpha Painters training dubbed Masterclass 2026/SCREENGRA

MK Alpha Painters said the initiative, dubbed Masterclass 2026, will run on a quarterly training calendar through to the close of next year.

The company says the programme is designed to “professionalise one of the construction industry’s most underleveraged trades” at a time when demand for skilled finishing professionals is surging.

Speaking during the launch, MK Alpha Painters Director Catherine Wanjiku Gatiri said the painting industry has for years been underserved in terms of structured, formal training, leaving many practitioners to rely on informal apprenticeships that vary widely in quality.

“Painters are on construction sites every day, yet most have never received formal instruction on surface preparation, colour consistency, or how to run a sustainable business. The MK Alpha Painters Masterclass is here to change that,” said Catherine.

She noted that the Masterclass 2026 is a practical, site-based training initiative developed in response to a widening skills gap in Kenya’s painting trade, a gap that has become more pronounced with the rapid expansion of construction activity across Nairobi and its surrounding counties.

Kenya’s affordable housing agenda, coupled with a private real estate boom, has created unprecedented demand for skilled professionals in the finishing trades.

However, painting remains largely informal, with most practitioners learning through unstructured mentorship arrangements that do not always expose them to best practices or evolving technologies.

The Masterclass curriculum is built around six practical areas designed to elevate painters from basic practitioners to highly skilled professionals.

Participants will begin with in-depth product knowledge, where they will learn the differences between various paint types, their chemical compositions, and which products are best suited for specific surfaces and environmental conditions.

From there, the training moves into surface preparation, covering industry-standard techniques for priming and preparing surfaces before paint application.

Organisers say this stage is critical because poor preparation is one of the leading causes of premature paint failure and substandard finishes.

The programme will also focus heavily on finishing techniques and colour consistency — two areas where even experienced painters often fall short.

Delivering uniform, high-quality results across varied surfaces and maintaining accurate colour from one wall to the next are skills that separate professionals from the rest and directly influence a painter’s reputation and earning potential.

Beyond technical skills, the Masterclass also seeks to instill business acumen among participants, equipping them with knowledge on pricing, client management, branding, and sustainable growth.

The aim is to create a credentialed, job-ready talent pool that contractors, developers, interior designers and homeowners can rely on with confidence.