The National Assembly Committee on Tourism and Wildlife advocates for Kenya Utalii College to be granted the authority to certify all professionals in the hospitality industry.
Led by Chairperson Hon. Kareke Mbiuki (Maara), committee members voiced concerns over the lack of regulation in the sector’s training standards.
They emphasized the need for standardized training during a meeting with officials from the Tourism Professionals Association (TPA) led by Chairperson Prof Ray Mutinda.
“If we make it mandatory that all practitioners in the tourism and hospitality sector must have a certification from Utalii College before practicing, there will be standardization,” Hon. Mbiuki suggested.
“Our agenda as a Committee is to have the premier college elevated and be the institution that certifies all the professionals in the sector, ” he added during the session chaired by Hon Abdi Ali (Ijara).
“We support having Utalii College as an institution that certifies us. We are proposing that training should continue at the lower levels, and we should be allowed to work with other stakeholders to establish a minimum curriculum for the learners, ” said Prof Mutinda.
In the afternoon, the committee met with Stephen Kinyanjui, CEO of the Tourism Promotion Fund (TPF).
At the session chaired by Hon. Innocent Mugabe (Likuyani), Mr. Kinyanjui updated the MPs on the projects funded by the TPF in the last and current fiscal years.
The Committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow with the CEOs of the Kenya Tourism Board, Tourism Regulatory Authority, and Tourism Research Institute to discuss their strategic plans in detail.
