PropelA study links skills training to business returns, youth jobs
Swisscontact Country Director Sharon Mosin speaking during PPropelA Business Impact & Investment Insights Breakfast, Nairobi.
A new study on the PropelA Dual Apprenticeship Programme has shown that industry-led skills development can deliver measurable returns for businesses while improving employment opportunities for young people.
The Return on Investment (ROI) Study found that companies participating in the programme achieve an average 30 per cent Return on Training Investment (ROTI), generate approximately Sh2 million in net value per company and recover their investment within three years.
Nearly 87 per cent of the value generated comes directly from increased apprentice productivity, highlighting the link between skills development, workforce productivity and business performance.
The findings were unveiled yesterday during the PropelA Business Impact and Investment Insights Breakfast convened by Swisscontact and attended by private sector leaders, development partners, government representatives, industry associations and workforce development stakeholders.
Conducted by Orange & Teal on behalf of Swisscontact, the independent study comes as Kenya grapples with a mismatch between employers’ demand for industry-ready workers and the difficulties many young people face in accessing decent employment.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which continue to face productivity and competitiveness challenges, also struggle to find workers with the practical skills required in modern workplaces.
Swisscontact Kenya Country Director Sharon Mosin said the findings challenge the perception that skills development is only a social investment.
“Skills are not simply a social investment. They are economic infrastructure. Just as roads connect markets and energy powers industry, skilled people drive productivity, competitiveness and growth. When businesses invest in skills, they are investing in their own future,” Mosin said.
The study found that youth unemployment and skills shortages are closely linked to a wider disconnect between skills development, enterprise needs and employment opportunities.
PropelA seeks to bridge this gap by placing employers at the centre of workforce development. Its dual apprenticeship model combines structured workplace learning with classroom instruction, enabling young people to gain practical experience, industry-relevant competencies and nationally recognised certification while contributing to business productivity.
Since its launch, PropelA has partnered with more than 70 companies, trained over 400 young people and achieved an employment rate of more than 80 per cent.
“For years, we have discussed youth unemployment as one challenge and skills shortages as another. The evidence shows they are two sides of the same coin,” Mosin said.
“PropelA demonstrates that when employers become co-investors in skills, businesses gain productivity, young people gain opportunity and the economy gains a stronger workforce.”
Initially implemented in electrical and plumbing trades, the programme has expanded to welding, lifts and escalators, maintenance services and selected hospitality occupations.
The model also offers opportunities for adaptation across manufacturing, energy, transport, agribusiness and other high-growth sectors as Kenya seeks to advance its industrialisation agenda and create quality jobs under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
The findings provide a case for scaling industry-led skills development nationally, with the study indicating that apprenticeships can simultaneously strengthen SME productivity, improve employment outcomes and build the skilled workforce required to support economic growth.
The study further underscores the need for skills, systems and capital to work together in driving sustainable economic transformation.
Skills without opportunity can fuel unemployment, while capital without capability can increase business risks. However, aligning skills development with industry demand can improve business productivity, enhance youth employability and strengthen economic competitiveness.
