COUNTY-LEVEL STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPs)

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:

1. Increase employable, practical skills among youth
2. Improve coffee quality and price realization at source
3. Reduce youth unemployment through skills-to-income pathways
4. Strengthen local value addition
5. 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

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:

• Train locally
• Certify practically
• Employ sustainably
• Compete globally

Open Skills Education was founded by Alfred Gitau Mwaura