Rail project an engine of learning

Classes start at camp on Nairobi-Mombasa SGR line as China Road and Bridge and local partners transfer skills to Kenyan workers

"There is no greater opportunity than a company willing to work with you," says Isabella Khaemba, a 24-year-old Kenyan laboratory technician who works for China Road and Bridge Corp. Khaemba was speaking at the launch of the Technology Transfer Competence Training facility in the coastal town of Voi, Kenya. CBRC, which is building the modern, $3.8 billion Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway project, has selected what is known as the Section 2 project site camp to establish a pilot project to improve the capacity of its Kenyan employees. It will run a formal training program that combines physical and theoretical training for Kenyans already engaged in the construction of the railway.

The Standard Gauge Railway, set for completion in June 2017, will carry freight trains of up to 80 kilometers per hour and passenger trains at up to 120 km/h.

The railway is expected to relieve transport and freight costs in the region, which are among the highest in the world. This will enable East Africa's exports to compete more effectively worldwide. Transport and logistics costs account for more than 40 percent of the value of Kenyan exports, with the amount increasing as high as 75 percent for landlocked Rwanda and Uganda.

Khaemba and her colleagues hope to be among the first beneficiaries of the three-month intensive program. She says the opportunity will definitely set her apart from the graduates from local colleges.

"The machines and equipment found in these laboratories are not in our institutions, nor in most of the local construction companies," says Khaemba, who has worked at the lab for almost 11 months.

The lab tests sand, ballast and soil density and dynamic penetration as well as cement quality and steel yield stress, among other factors.

Lab technicians Caleb Nyaboga and Ezra Osinyo agree with Khaemba. They graduated from Gusii Technical Institute in western Kenya and were visibly excited at the prospect of joining the program. They say that during the short stint of their engagement they have learned a lot. But the skills transfer program presents an added advantage.

"This is a unique way of training since we are using the theory learned in class to apply in the lab," says Nyaboga at the end of the event. "It will improve our efficiency and productivity," interjects Osinyo. The Standard Gauge Railway project is expected to employ about 30,000 locals.

The trio were employed because of their qualifications and previous work experience with road construction firms.

According to the deputy project manager of the campsite, Han Feng, the office will establish professional classes appropriate for the various construction teams. The Chinese technical staff will be responsible for apprenticeship instruction, training and operation of the program. "They will act as mentors," he says, adding that this is a comprehensive path for technology transfers to improve local skills, as well as a way to maintain and enhance worker skills for the railway project.

Han adds that the program has formed a partnership with a local training institution, Rene Descartes Training Institute, to provide theoretical training. "This ensures that the training is validated and the graduates are recognized both locally and regionally," Han says.

The CBRC center is scheduled to train a number of construction engineers, survey and laboratory technicians, senior technicians in large equipment operation, and other skilled technicians of various trades. The Descartes institute will conduct course completion examinations and award certificates to qualified graduates.

Raychelle Injete, director of the Nairobi-based college, calls the program groundbreaking, calling it "the first skills transfer training program" of its kind in East and Central Africa. She adds that it is in line with the country's economic blueprint, Vision 2030. "This also complements the president's call to elevate the skills of more than 1 million unskilled or lower skilled Kenyan workers," she says.

For Kenya to achieve the goals of Vision 2030, the country needs to have at least 7,500 engineers, 22,500 technologists, 90,000 technicians and about 450,000 artisans, officials have said.

Injete says the training program also provides a replicable model for other bilateral partners. "The combination of theory and hands-on experience is highly commendable. The graduates will be well-rounded and uniquely positioned in the job market," says the director of the institute, which was founded in 2005.

Injete says the institute's experience as a consultancy firm in human resources has enabled it to work closely with the Chinese construction firm to design comprehensive and relevant content that will be used in class. Classes will be held on Sundays.

"For the first time, we are taking advanced Chinese technical knowledge and putting it into theory. So whatever has not been understood on site is discussed and well-articulated in class. This will ensure that the Chinese contractors are interacting with workers who are ready to learn and have high morale," she says.

She adds that the workers would not be confined to employment at the Chinese firm but will also have the choice to be employed or self-employed in other upcoming mega-projects in the region. "This is what every worker wants," she says.

There is plenty of work to be done in the transportation sector alone. The SGR line is expected to be extended to Malaba in Western Kenya, into Uganda and ultimately to Kigali in Rwanda. It would cover a distance of 2,935 kilometers. It would boost trade links in the region by offering an alternative to cargo transporters, who presently rely on road transport, which bears the burden of 94 percent of all freight movement compared to the 5 percent for the existing railway system.

Injete adds that the Chinese model promotes value for hard work and the skills transfer program will significantly bridge the value systems between China and Kenya. "We look forward to launching a trainer of trainers program, too, so that it can be easily replicated in other campsites."

Local officials, such as Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu, are happy with the training program, which they say will benefit the rural area. "Most people here have low skills because their economic incomes are low and they are not exposed (to opportunities) like the urban folks."

He says the program follows the initial challenge of the railway construction firm being unable to find qualified local employees. "We had to partner and retrain drivers for them to be employed. But this training program is addressing this challenge not only in my county, but all other counties where the railway will pass," he says. "This is an extension of that experience."

The Standard Gauge Railway passes from Mariakani to Athi River through the hinterland of eight counties: Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Makueni, Taita Taveta, Kajiado, Machakos and Nairobi.

Mruttu advises that the students be proactive in class as well as at the construction sites. "We have a saying in Kiswahili that says you can only take the cow to the river, but you cannot force it to drink."

Khaemba and her fellow lab technicians know only too well the advantage of self-motivation. It not only gave them new skills but also paved the way for a harmonious relationship with the Chinese technicians. "Despite the communication barrier, they teach through action. They show you what to do and then allow you to do it on your own. If there are any differences in the readings, they do it again and that is how I have learned" she says. She has specialized in soil and concrete analysis, which looks at the strength of every compound used in the construction.

Khaemba says this process of learning and working is different from what many Kenyans are used to, especially graduates. "Most of them come with predetermined minds on what to do. They are disappointed because they are not ready to learn. For a start, the Chinese standards are different from the British standards we learn in school. We have a lot to learn," says Khaemba, a diploma graduate who is looking forward to obtaining a degree in civil engineering.

She says her attitude toward learning is what will propel her to greater heights.

The success of the program will enable the implementation of similar classes in all sections of the Standard Gauge Railway project, officials say. The company has at least nine campsites spread from Mombasa to Nairobi.

lucymorangi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 07/10/2015 page16)