Embakasi Vocational Training Centre

Embakasi Vocational Training Centre is one of the vocational training centres owned and run by Nairobi City County. It works from the Embakasi Social Hall grounds at the Embakasi Village market, a single-storey block of workshops and classrooms around an open yard, close to the ward office. The centre serves school leavers and adults from Embakasi Village and the surrounding estates who want a practical trade at low cost. Courses are taught at NITA Grade III level, with the option of moving on to Grades II and I, and trainees sit the National Industrial Training Authority trade tests. The current trades are electrical wiring, dressmaking and fashion design, hairdressing, beauty therapy and computer packages, and courses last from six months to two years depending on the trade and grade. Every trainee also takes short units in entrepreneurship, communication, life skills and basic computer studies. The county plans to add the ICDL digital literacy certificate and more short courses in garment making and beauty care. Classes are small and the emphasis is on hands-on work, with partner organisations helping graduates find internships and jobs.