MCK Industrial Placement Programme Kicks Off

Over 170 aspiring journalists and communications professionals will this Monday, January 24, 2022, join different media houses across Kenya through the Media Council of Kenya’s (MCK) Industrial Placement Programme.

This is the first cohort of final year journalism and media students selected from media training institutions in Kenya who will be placed in various departments of different media houses for three months to enable them
to complete the course requirements needed to graduate. They will be engaged in Editorial, Radio, Television, Digital and Corporate Communications.

Over 800 applications were received following a call in November last year, with over 300 beneficiaries qualifying for the placement. The second group will assume their places in April, running through to June.

“The Media Council of Kenya has partnered with 40 media houses to bridge the gap between training institutions
and the industry in providing the upcoming media workers with hands-on skills to prepare them for the work
industry. The programme will benefit final journalism and communications students across the country on a
quarterly basis for a period of three months per cohort,” said MCK in a statement.

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The first batch will undergo induction training on Friday, January 21, 2022, where they are expected to
familiarise themselves with the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya and other professional principles.

During the attachment, students will receive a Ksh15,000 stipend to cover their transport and insurance costs
while the partner media houses will be facilitated to cater for sundries and other costs incurred by the attachees.

“In line with our mandate of setting standards and ensuring compliance with those standards, the Council has seen the need to set up infrastructure and to extend support to promote and strengthen working relations between the media sector and training institutions in Kenya”, said Media Council of Kenya CEO Mr David Omwoyo.

“Lack of purposeful relationship between the media industry and academia in the sector has hampered attainment of practical industrial exposure that is critical to skills transfer and progression of students in journalism training institutions. It is out of this need that we rolled out this programme”, added Mr Omwoyo.

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