By KATTI Writer
The Mumias West Vocational Training Centres has a painful history that decades back during the colonial period.
“The land where we are located was once a battle ground between two Luhya communities who were once considered colonial friends. After the country gained its independence two Luhya communities who once lived peacefully turned against each other and for over a decade waged war against its each other. The war was fought over a parcel of land, despite numerous peace agreements which bored no fruit and that’s when the government decided to repose the land in order to bring peace within this area,” recalls Mr. Washuma Job, Deputy Principal.
With a Kshs 100 Million investment the government was able to put up a TVET institute with aim of ensuring the local youth has a place to learn technical skills that will spur their growth.
Mr. Washuma says that, “Once the conflict was over there was need to engage the youth and the best way to do so was by setting up a learning institution where the youth could learn a trade skill or two in order to make them responsible people in the society.”
Started in 2018 under the mentorship of Sigalagala National Polytechnic.
“We are still new but we strive to be a centre of excellence in mechatronic engineering and we believe that our mentor TVET institute will offer the best guidance that will enable us excel in our desired field,” comments Mr. Washuma.
Currently the institute has a student population of 200 with 25 tutors.
Mr. Washuma reveals that, “We have a state of the art mechatronic workshop that enables our students carry out their practical with lots of ease and this has been very instrumental in equipping the students with industry based skills.”
The institute offer both Diploma, Certificate and craftsmanship courses as per the government’s guidelines.
