Sharon Mosin-Urner has built a reputation as a champion of youth employment, linking graduates to the job market from the moment they enter Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
By bringing the private sector into the design of training programmes, aligning them with real market needs, she has drawn both praise and applause for efforts to fix a system long criticised for producing graduates unprepared for work.
On Friday March 27, 2026, the work received national recognition. Mosin-Urner, Country Director of Swisscontact in Kenya, was named among the country’s top executive leaders at the eighth edition of the Diversity and Inclusion Awards and Recognition (DIAR 8th Edition), under the Top 30 Executives Taifa Laureates.
The organisation she leads was also recognised among the Top 100 Taifa Champions for delivering measurable and scalable impact.
The recognition highlights a model that is quietly reshaping the transition from training to employment.
At its core is a private sector-led dual training approach inspired by Switzerland’s system, where learning is split between the classroom and the workplace.
Under the model, 75% of training takes place in structured industry settings, with the remaining 25% delivered in class, ensuring that trainees graduate with both theoretical grounding and practical, job-ready skills.
“The approach addresses a persistent disconnect in Kenya’s labour market, where employers report difficulty finding skilled workers even as youth unemployment remains high. Nearly one million young Kenyans enter the labour market each year, with those aged 15 to 34 making up about 35 percent of the population. At the same time, sectors driving economic growth: construction, transport, housing and agriculture, face acute shortages of technical skills,” she said.
The construction industry alone, valued at more than 2 trillion shillings, has far fewer certified artisans than engineers, a stark illustration of a system that produces more planners than builders.
Across the wider economy, more than half of informal-sector firms report difficulty finding skilled workers.
By aligning training directly with industry demand, the Swiss-inspired dual training system, adapted to local needs, is already delivering results, with employability rates reaching about 80 percent among graduates.
She does not do it alone. Her strength lies in her convening power, bringing together TVET institutions, private sector companies, government, regulators, and crucially, students and graduates themselves.
Around the table, employers articulate the skills gaps, students and graduates share the realities of training and the barriers they face in securing work, institutions surface learning challenges, and the government ensures sustainability and adoption.
The result is a shared approach, where training is shaped collectively and young people are better prepared for the realities of the labour market.
She was recognised during the Women’s Month, an acknowledgement of leadership that is not only redefining systems but expanding opportunity for generations.
In partnership with TVET institutions and under programmes accredited by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), trainees are placed directly within companies when they report to college, spending one week in class and three weeks in the industry every month, often receiving stipends while gaining hands-on experience.
Employers, in turn, play an active role in shaping the training itself, co-designing programmes and absorbing graduates into their workforce.
The approach addresses a persistent disconnect in Kenya’s labour market, where employers report difficulty finding skilled workers even as youth unemployment remains high.
For many young people, it is already changing outcomes, turning training into a direct pathway to employment, rather than a waiting room for opportunity.
