Tourism Fund Launches Digital Skills Training for Youth in Eldoret
Rotich urged youth in other counties to watch out for upcoming editions.
By Anneth Chepngetich
The Tourism Fund has rolled out its youth empowerment programme in Eldoret, combining hospitality training with digital skills to prepare young people for opportunities in the creative and tourism sectors.
The training, underway at the Eldoret National Polytechnic, is part of the Fund’s nationwide Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) initiative.
Speaking during the session, Tourism Fund officer Ms. Sally Rotich said while the core RPL programme certifies and upskills workers already in the hospitality industry, a new youth-focused track has been introduced to tap into the growing digital economy.
“We are currently doing an RPL training at the Eldoret Polytechnic. In addition to upskilling hospitality industry workers, we are also targeting the youth to train them on content creation, basics in photography and storytelling,” Rotich said.
The youth track introduces participants to the fundamentals of content creation — how to develop and package content for a target audience using video, reels, photos and written posts.
On the first day, trainees covered digital tools and platforms, core creative skills, and how to plan their first short-form content. They are also being taken through content strategy and audience growth, learning how to create content that attracts and retains viewers.
Beyond creation, the programme equips youth with skills in personal branding and monetization to turn creativity into sustainable income.
The training also puts Kenya’s digital opportunity into perspective, with participants shown data indicating a population of about 57.8 million, 23.4 million internet users and 18.4 million social media users — highlighting the vast potential for digital content and online business.
Rotich said Eldoret Polytechnic is part of a wider county-by-county rollout designed to ensure equitable access.
“This training is happening across different counties to equip the youth with the necessary skills that they need. It’s not exclusive to this institution,” she said.
She noted the programme is intentionally practical and localized, encouraging youth to draw from their own communities and cultures to create authentic content and build livelihoods at home.
Participants are being urged to use their local voices and lived experiences as a foundation for digital journalism — documenting their cultures, communities and local tourism attractions.
“How they can use their local context, their voices to be digital journalists,” Rotich said.
The Tourism Fund is also linking digital skills to direct employment in the tourism value chain, training youth to brand themselves and offer digital services to hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses.
The Eldoret session drew a diverse group, from established creators to complete beginners — a turnout Rotich described as impressive and proof of the programme’s open-door approach.
The training further focuses on growing digital presence, developing a clear content strategy, and exploring income streams beyond posting, including monetization and offering services as social media managers and content producers.
The Tourism Fund, a state corporation mandated to finance tourism development, has increasingly prioritized capacity building and youth inclusion in line with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Rotich urged youth in other counties to watch out for upcoming editions.
“Just watch out for the next opportunity, we might be coming to your county in a few months, in a few weeks,” she said.
For many participants, the training marks a shift from being consumers of digital content to becoming creators who can leverage their skills, local knowledge and communities to build sustainable careers.
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