Lodwar, March 16th 2026 (Public Communication and Media Relations)
Deputy Governor Dr. John Erus, has called for urgent investment in skills development to prepare local youth for employment opportunities expected from renewed oil and gas exploration in South Lokichar basin.
Speaking while hosting a delegation from Swisscontact, Dr. Erus said the county must begin addressing the workforce requirements of the sector to ensure that local communities benefit from the emerging oil economy.
According to the Deputy Governor, the recent entry of Gulf oil and the subsequent approval of Oil field Development Plan (FDP) indicates the full resumption of oil exploration that had initially stalled with the exit of Tullow oil company.
Noting that discussions around the sector have largely focused on community engagement and development frameworks, with little attention given to the skills needed to enable local youth to participate in the industry, DG Erus welcomed plans by Swisscontact to bridge the emerging gap.
“We must now begin preparing our young people to take advantage of opportunities that will arise from the oil and gas sector. Addressing the skills mismatch is critical if Turkana youth are to participate meaningfully in the emerging industry,” said Dr. Erus.
He urged Swisscontact, an organization with extensive experience in human capital development aligned with market needs, to consider working closely with the county’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to support upskilling initiatives using existing training facilities.
Dr. Erus further encouraged the organization to formalize its collaboration with the county government through a structured partnership framework that would guide the implementation of skills development programmes.
“The county appreciates Swisscontact for its previous contribution to innovation initiatives in Turkana. We believe a formal partnership on skills development will help equip our youth with industry-relevant competencies,” he said.
According to the Swisscontact team lead, Mr. Jimmy Delyon, the planned intervention will begin with a market assessment to identify demand-driven skills required in the oil and gas sector and its related value chains before appropriate training programmes are designed.
The organization cited its previous experience working in Turkana during the construction of the Kenya–South Sudan link road, where a similar assessment identified the need for skilled workers such as plumbers, masons and other technical cadres.
“Following the training, many of the participants were absorbed into the labour market,” he said.
Adding that a similar approach would be applied in preparing youth to take up opportunities expected to emerge from the oil and gas sector.
Meeting was also attended by Chief Officer for Partnership Janerose Tioko and Director in charge of Wash under KISEDP programs Godfrey Ikone.
