COUNTY-LEVEL STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPs)

Open Skills Education (OSE) for Coffee Value Chains

A Devolved Skills, Youth, and Economic Empowerment Framework

Applicable to:
County Governments of Kenya

1. POLICY CONTEXT & LEGAL ALIGNMENT

1.1 Constitutional & Devolution Basis

These SOPs are anchored in:

Devolution of Agriculture, Trade, Youth, and Vocational Skills
County mandates on:
- Local economic development (LED)
- MSME support
- Youth & women empowerment
- Cooperative development
- Climate-smart agriculture

1.2 Policy Alignment

The OSE County Model aligns with:

County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs)
County Youth Empowerment Policies
County Agriculture Sector Plans
County Trade & Industrialization Strategies

2. COUNTY OSE OBJECTIVES

County governments adopting this SOP shall aim to:

Increase employable, practical skills among youth
Improve coffee quality and price realization at source
Reduce youth unemployment through skills-to-income pathways
Strengthen local value addition
Formalize informal skills without excluding informal learners

3. COUNTY GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE FOR OSE

3.1 County OSE Steering Committee

Established by the County Executive Committee (CEC) and comprising:

Agriculture Department
Trade & MSMEs Department
Youth, Gender & Social Services
Cooperative Development
Kenya Coffee School (Technical Partner)
Barista Mtaani (Community Implementation Partner)

3.2 Roles

Actor	Responsibility
County Government	Policy, funding, coordination, infrastructure
Kenya Coffee School	Standards, curriculum, assessment, certification
Barista Mtaani	Community outreach, informal training, talent incubation
Cooperatives	Farmer mobilization & facilities
Private Sector	Equipment, mentorship, market linkage

4. COUNTY-BASED ADMISSIONS & ACCESS SOP

4.1 Target Beneficiaries

Youth (16–35)
Women
Smallholder farmers
Cooperative members
Informal baristas & traders
Persons transitioning from informal to formal economy

4.2 Admission Rules

No KCSE or academic grade requirements
Residency or community linkage within the county
Commitment to participate in practical training

5. DECENTRALIZED TRAINING DELIVERY MODEL

5.1 Training Hubs (County-Owned or Community-Based)

Training shall be delivered through:

Coffee factories
Cooperative halls
Youth empowerment centers
Markets & community spaces
County-supported coffee labs

5.2 County Rule

Training must go to the people, not people to distant institutions.

6. COUNTY CURRICULUM LOCALIZATION

6.1 Mandatory Core Modules

All counties shall offer:

Coffee farming & quality basics
Post-harvest handling
Sample roasting & cupping
Barista & beverage skills
Coffee entrepreneurship & MSMEs

6.2 County-Specific Customization

Each county may add:

Local varieties & terroir
County climate & soils
Local market dynamics
County cooperative structures

7. ASSESSMENT & CERTIFICATION (COUNTY-RECOGNIZED)

7.1 Assessment Method

Practical demonstrations
On-site observation
Peer & mentor validation
Community-based evaluation

7.2 Certification Framework

Certificates issued shall:

Be skills-based, not exam-based
Indicate county of training
Indicate hours of hands-on practice
Be recognized by the county government

8. COUNTY LABS & QUALITY ACCESS SOP

8.1 Open Access Coffee Labs

Counties are encouraged to establish:

Sample roasting labs
Cupping spaces
Sensory training facilities

8.2 Access Rule

Free or subsidized access for:
- Smallholder farmers
- Youth trainees
- Cooperatives
Priority to quality improvement, not gatekeeping

9. MSME, JOB & ENTERPRISE PATHWAYS

9.1 Employment Pathways

Graduates may transition into:

Cooperative quality roles
Café & roastery jobs
County-supported value addition units

9.2 Enterprise Support

County governments shall:

Link graduates to youth funds
Support licensing & compliance
Prioritize OSE graduates in county procurement where applicable

10. FUNDING & RESOURCE MOBILIZATION SOP

10.1 County Budgeting

Funding may be drawn from:

Youth empowerment votes
Agriculture extension budgets
MSME & trade funds
Climate-smart agriculture programs

10.2 PPP & Donor Alignment

Counties may:

Enter MoUs with training partners
Leverage CSR & development partners
Pilot OSE before scaling countywide

11. MONITORING, REPORTING & ACCOUNTABILITY

11.1 County Indicators

Success shall be measured by:

Number of trained youth
Quality improvement at cooperative level
Income change for farmers
MSMEs created
Youth employment absorption

11.2 Reporting Cycle

Quarterly departmental reports
Annual CIDP-aligned evaluation
Community feedback forums

12. SOCIAL, ETHICAL & INCLUSION STANDARDS

12.1 Inclusion

Gender equity mandatory
Youth priority
Inclusion of informal workers

12.2 Ethics

No exploitation of trainees
Fair recognition of local knowledge
Transparency in certification & funding

13. COUNTY DECLARATION

Open Skills Education at county level is hereby recognized as a strategic tool for devolved economic development, youth empowerment, and value-chain upgrading.

This SOP enables counties to: