Jitume hub opens digital work opportunities for Uasin Gishu Youth 

When Emmanuel Kiprop joined the Jitume Digital Hub at the Rift Valley Technical Training Institute (RVTTI) in 2023, he was seeking digital skills to improve his employment prospects.

Three years later, the 24-year-old earns more than Sh25,000 monthly from online work and voluntarily trains other young people in digital tasks.

Kiprop, one of the hub’s first trainees, specialises in 2D and 3D annotation, which involves identifying and labelling objects in images and three-dimensional environments.

He said he progressed from basic tasks to reviewing work completed by others.

“The Jitume Digital Hub has played an important role in my personal and professional development,” he said, adding that his earnings had enabled him to purchase a laptop and improve his capacity to work online.

He said some of the young people he had trained had secured online jobs, although he cautioned that scams and fraudulent job offers remained a challenge.

He also cites institutional internet restrictions that sometimes limit access to work platforms.

Kiprop encouraged young people to enrol in Jitume and Ajira Digital training programmes to acquire skills relevant to online employment.

For Peter Tanui, another beneficiary, online work offers a chance to resume his education after financial difficulties forced him to discontinue a Diploma in Information Technology at RVTTI.

Tanui, who began training at the hub in 2024, said earnings from online tasks had helped him meet rent and daily expenses, as he saved towards returning to school.

“The online job is fairly paying, and my goal is to go back to school and complete my studies,” he said.

He also said the hub’s 5 p.m. closing time limited his working hours, particularly for trainees without personal computers, and called for extended operating hours.

Graham Kituzi, Head of the Department of e-Learning and External Linkages at RVTTI, said the hub began operations in October 2023, a year before its official launch by Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Principal Secretary, Eng. John Tanui, on October 25, 2024 had trained 22 cohorts comprising about 2,500 trainees and provided 100 computers for digital training and online work.

Kituze said beneficiaries had cumulatively earned about Sh5 million from activities including digital marketing, financial markets, Government securities, forex trading and other online tasks.

He added that approximately 1,600 trainees were actively earning from online work within or outside the hub, while fewer than 100 community members regularly used its computer laboratory, which offers free access to RVTTI students and young people from the surrounding community.

Kituzi noted that some international online work platforms had introduced regional restrictions, reducing access to certain high-paying tasks for Kenyan digital workers, saying more locally sourced opportunities were needed to enable trained youth to apply their skills and earn income.

“We need to create more local opportunities for young people who have acquired digital skills, including engaging Jitume hubs to provide selected digital services for Government agencies,” he said.

He proposed that agencies such as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), consider engaging trained youth in areas such as tax education and user support, while the Social Health Authority (SHA) could explore opportunities for skilled personnel to contribute to digital systems.

The hub also faces a shortage of computers, with Kituzi saying it required about 200 additional Core i5 computers or higher to accommodate more users and support demanding digital tasks.

He said internet connectivity had occasionally slowed, prompting the institution to supplement Government-provided services, using its approved budget.

The additional connection had improved speeds to about 100 megabits per second, he said, while calling for sustained investment in reliable internet.

Kituzi said the hub was not operating around the clock due to staffing and security concerns, although discussions were underway to accommodate periods when online tasks were most active, including at night.

He also cited the lack of a clear policy on computer maintenance and the need to monitor usage and assess the return on investment of equipment supplied to the centres.

Beyond online work, RVTTI is exploring Artificial Intelligence and software engineering training to equip young people to develop technology solutions for local challenges.

“We want to develop AI models to solve local problems instead of relying on international ones, while equipping young people with the skills to develop solutions that address challenges in their communities,” Kituzi said.

Launched by President William Ruto in December 2022, the Jitume programme aims to expand young people’s access to digital skills, Government e-services and online employment opportunities, targeting the creation of more than one million digital jobs within five years.

The programme brings together several Government ministries, including those responsible for information and communications, education, foreign affairs, and labour.

Its infrastructure plan includes 47 Centres of ICT Excellence, one in each county, and 1,450 ward-level ICT hubs intended to expand access to digital services and training.

Through the initiative, young people from across the country can access training and online courses designed to improve their digital skills and employment prospects.

By Fredrick Maritim