Kenya Media Council launch training of Journalism students.

At least 400 journalists will have the opportunity to acquire the required skills from media organizations even when they complete their studies

This is the plan of the Kenya Media Council to place university students annually in media courses for industrial training.

Yesterday, MCK launched an industrial placement program where a media regulator will link industry with universities.

“The media will give us the capacity they need and we are asking universities and universities to nominate students who will be distributed to the media for training,” said Victor Bwire, director of training and media development. In MCK.

The initiative was initiated by Cabinet Secretary for Information and Communication Technology Joe Mucheru and aims to close the gap by training journalism staff. The program targets last-year media students.

The official noted that there are 42 higher education institutions offering media-related courses, and MCK intends to teach 100 students every three months.

“We have 200 radio stations and 130 television stations and more than 100 publications in the country. Ours is to connect graduate students with media houses, ”said Bwire.

Media council officials said there had been a backlash between newsrooms and universities over recruiting students in connection with industry

.

“On the one hand, the industry says that universities do not offer products that cannot be used in marketing and on the other hand, universities say that media houses have stopped welcoming students,” said Bwire.

MCK CEO David Omwoyo said the waiting list for media houses to find local journalists had more than 2,000 opportunities.

“This nursery will improve the transition from school to industry,” Omwoyo said, adding that each student selected for training will receive a payment of 15,000 shillings.

CS Mucheru welcomed the council’s plan, adding that the intervention would increase professionalism as the media landscape expands to the digital space.

“Media experts determine the quality of information collected and disseminated by the media and thus affect public opinion.

“Our young people face many challenges in finding employment after graduating from university. Many do not have enough qualifications to do the right media work, so most media houses do not tend to take it, “added CS.

Mucheru added that the ministry will continue to support industrialization programs to help young people.

“I am pleased that MCK has seen the need to build infrastructure and provide its support to the industry and universities. I commended the council for completing government initiatives to ensure that our youth have access to employment opportunities through training, ”added Mucheru.