Rail to get a well-trained workforce

One of the questions that inevitably get asked frequently when a government implements a big project such as the standard gauge railway is what will happen once the works are ready for commissioning.

Tied to this is whether there will be adequate local capacity to operate, manage and repair the track and its attendant infrastructure once the foreign contractor leaves.

I am glad to note the massive work that is going on behind the scenes to ensure that these questions are comprehensively addressed, and in good time.

As things stand now, once the railway line is commissioned sometime next year, there will be a bankable pool of Kenyan expertise that has been adequately trained to not only operate this critical piece of infrastructure, but most importantly, to maintain and repair the same and ensure it is in a serviceable state.

From the very outset, technology transfer, just like the utilisation of local content, are critical elements of the contract that the Kenyan government signed with the engineering, procurement and construction contractor at inception.

But most importantly, we are determined to ensure that it becomes reality, not just an element of the pre-works contracting calligraphy.

A major centrepiece of this work is the ongoing transformation of the Railway Training Institute, which was launched way back in 1956 by the colonialists, into the epicentre of railway technology training in the region.

The institutes’ focus would remain railway-related courses meant to meet the technical skills requirements of Kenya’s railway system.

Under its expanded mandate, institute has been designated a centre of excellence in rail training under the Northern Corridor Integration projects.

In tandem, the institute now seeks to project itself as a premier training centre for transport and logistics in Africa.

This will see it play a critical role in the training and provision of different cadres of qualified personnel to key flagship infrastructure projects, including the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor) ones.

Back to the new railway, Kenya Railways Corporation, in partnership with China Road and Bridge Corporation, the railway contractor, are actively training Kenyans at the institute ahead of the expected commissioning.

LOCAL TALENT

To its credit, China Bridge has offered partial scholarships to qualified Kenyans with diplomas either in engineering or business-related courses to undertake basic training in a number of areas: traffic and transportation management; telecommunications control engineering; locomotive and rolling stock engineering.

The four-month courses started in April this year. Enrolment has been impressive at 102 trainees in the courses.

The contractor has also facilitated nine trainers from China’s South Western University of Jiatong.

This same University is currently hosting 25 Kenyan students who are doing degree courses in Railway Engineering and Management.

Most importantly, Kenyan trainers will understudy the Chinese and eventually take over from them, thus engendering much-needed sustainability.

The trainees also get internship and attachment opportunities on the new railway sites along the Mombasa-Nairobi line, giving them invaluable practical exposure.

It is expected that the operator shall employ the students after internship.

The second phase of the training, which is expected to start in September will target locomotive drivers and cover such areas as signalling engineering and telecommunications.

Equally critical is the training of trainers component to ensure continuity to replace the Chinese when the time comes and establish a competent cadre of trainers that will outlive the project launch.

As part of its mandate and ambitions that extend beyond Kenya, the institute has taken a leading role in the identification of a consultant to do a skills audit for the railway sector in the region.

An inception report has been prepared and survey results are expected by the end of August 2016.

It is expected that this document will be critical in mapping and meeting the training needs of the sector in the region, going forward.

Such is the importance the government attaches to this component of the new railway that it has already committed some Sh2 billion towards a comprehensive infrastructure upgrade in the next financial year.

The money will also go into equipping the institute’s workshops with state-of-the-art equipment.

The end-game is to enhance the quality of training being undertaken at railway training institute.

The author is the Principal Secretary for Transport