In your own assessment, has the vocational career pathway been helpful?

Yes, very helpful in the sense that the learners, they acquire skills. They’re able to go out there and they set up their own small-scale businesses. Some of them have opened up their own shops and are doing fine. Not every child can manage to go to university and college. The skills they’re gaining from the school means they’re able to take care of themselves and when they leave school, they’re able to sustain themselves. Some learners are joining existing entrepreneurs who are working in the district. In agricultural science, we have young people who are running businesses with small gardens and in construction we have some who have joined the contractors and they end up living there.

Do you have examples of students who have set up such businesses?

Yes, we have a prominent businessman here in the district, he’s one of our former learners. He has already established a business with trucks and he is quite an important person now. He has employed so many young people from our school. In construction, we have some learners who have joined contractors. We have a few through the help of the school who are doing welding and metal fabrication, making window and door frames.

The school has benefited from some tools and equipment donated by Workaid, how has this helped the vocational programme at the school?

The receiving of the tools is what led to an increase in the number of students taking the vocational pathway of design and technology. We have the majority of learners in that subject because of the help that we received from Workaid. The teaching has been made easier, we really appreciate the donations.

My concluding remarks would be as a school we appreciate the services we are receiving from Workaid. The school wouldn’t have reached the level it has reached without your aid. When you visit our school, you’ll find a lot of activities, especially in the vocational career pathways, even in the home economics department we have a good number of learners there who are doing tailoring.