Youth Soft Skills Training Program – Kenya

Many young graduates in Kenya leave university with technical qualifications, but lack the interpersonal skills needed to thrive in the workplace. This prototype bridges that gap by equipping youth with essential soft skills to improve their confidence and job readiness.

Equipping Kenya’s Youth with Confidence and Voice
Wambui Cheche & Dolly Wanjiru – Nairobi, Kenya

Wambui Cheche and Dolly Wanjiru, both deeply committed to youth empowerment, found themselves walking a shared path through the Ubuntu.Lab Transformative Leadership Programme. Their partnership emerged organically—but with purpose. Together, they led the co-creation of the Youth Soft Skills Training Program—a practical initiative to train young people in workplace readiness. With plans to launch across three counties, they’ve already secured training venues, engaged stakeholders, and collaborated with a curriculum developer.

“I have worked with young people for a while now and observed a soft skills gap in the young people who graduate from colleges and universities.” — “Even though they are highly qualified in technical skills, they are not able to present themselves well in a job interview.” Wambui shares.

For Dolly, this gap had also long been a source of frustration, as she also noticed that—”Young people have energy, ideas, and talent—but they struggle with things like communication, confidence, and problem-solving,” Ultimately, the prototype is “a chance to give back to the community and help youths,” Dolly notes. “Wambui agrees and says, “It will be an opportunity to contribute positively to the world by impacting young people through training.”

Overall, The Ubuntu.Lab programme gave them the spark—and the structure—to act. Both Wambui and Dolly found clarity through the Theory-U process. “It made me take the bold step to prototype after procrastinating for a long time. I also got an opportunity to team up with a like-minded leader whom I am implementing the prototype with,”  Wambui reflects. Similarly, Dolly shares, “I learnt about systems thinking and theory U.” Going forward, both women carry a deep sense of purpose and will infuse this into the first training to be hosted in August 2025.

Wambui Cheche is a passionate youth advocate bridging the soft skills gap in Kenya to empower graduates for workplace success.

Dolly Wanjiru is a committed leader helping young people thrive by strengthening their communication, confidence, and problem-solving through practical training.