Edukans Ethiopia country director Gezahegn Lamesa
Education and vocational training stakeholders from Kenya and Ethiopia have met in Nairobi to discuss how green skills can help create jobs for young people and reduce environmental pollution.
The stakeholders attended a cross-border learning forum convened by Edukans Kenya to review the achievements and challenges of its Wear the Green Future programme.
The initiative works with technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, youth polytechnics and vocational centres to integrate green skills, circular economy principles and entrepreneurship into learning. It trains learners to turn waste, including discarded textiles and plastics, into products that can be reused or sold.
During the forum, Nelius Wangare of Kisumu Polytechnic highlighted the development of textile and green skills curricula in learning institutions.
He also pointed to the need to incorporate digital skills into training to promote circular fashion design.
The programme seeks to reduce environmental pollution caused by materials that cannot be recycled or reused. Edukans said thousands of learners across Kenya had benefited from the initiative through skills training and funding.
The organisation said the programme had also contributed to youth employment by enabling graduates to establish green enterprises and employ others.
Edukans Kenya country director Mary Mugo said the initiative sought to address both unemployment and environmental pollution by equipping young people with practical skills.
“When a young person learns to recycle waste into a product that sells, we solve unemployment and pollution at the same time,” she said.
Mugo said young people needed skills that would enable them to use sustainable textiles and develop innovations to support the green transition.
She also called for countries to work together and exchange best practices, citing Kenya and Ethiopia as examples of countries with shared experiences.
Exhibitor showcasing clothes made from recycled waste
The forum brought together representatives from government, TVET institutions, the private sector and development partners from the two countries.
Among those who attended were Edukans worldwide director Petra Van Haren, who joined virtually, and Edukans Ethiopia country director Gezahegn Lamesa. Azmera Kebede, an adviser to the state minister in Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labour and Skills, also attended.
Lamesa encouraged young people to embrace green skills and opportunities linked to the transition towards more sustainable practices.
The discussions focused on lessons from Kenya and Ethiopia in integrating green skills into curricula, strengthening links between training institutions and industry, and improving waste management.
Participants also reviewed challenges encountered in implementing the programme and discussed approaches that could be applied across the two countries. Recycled fashion products and other materials made from waste were displayed during the forum.
The exhibits demonstrated how discarded materials could be converted into reusable products while creating opportunities for green enterprises.
The meeting ended with a declaration by stakeholders seeking to promote the Wear the Green Future initiative and address barriers that prevent women and marginalised groups from participating in the green transition.
The declaration called for these groups to be supported in becoming agents of change amid climate change. Edukans is an international non-governmental organisation based in the Netherlands.
In Kenya, it works with learning institutions, TVETs and vocational training centres to improve foundational skills, work readiness and entrepreneurship, with a focus on marginalised youth and the green transition.
Edukans Kenya director Mary Mugo
