KAYEC was founded as a faith based organization in Windhoek during 1994. Training began from rented premises in Katutura. In 1995, the Municipality of Windhoek made land available to KAYEC and soon thereafter the first phase of the Vocational Training Centre was completed. In 1999, KAYEC was registered as a Trust. Namibia's former sprinting ace and youth role model Frankie
Fredericks became the Patron of KAYEC. In 2002 a second Vocational Training Centre was built in Ondangwa (Oshana Region). Both Windhoek and Ondangwa VTC's have undergone expansions due to the high demand for short practical courses.
KAYEC focuses on assisting those who have failed in the schooling system and who without projects such as KAYEC would not easily be able to access occupational training Vocational training has been identified as an area suitable for KAYEC's target group, and KAYEC trains approximately 1000 students per year in nine skill areas.
KAYEC currently offers the following 8 trade courses:
Bricklaying & Plastering,
Carpentry & Joinery,
Plumbing and Pipefitting,
Metalwork & Fabrication,
Painting/Tiling and Glazing,
Small Engine Maintenance,
Electrical Installation and Repair,
Building Maintenance & Repair.
All trade courses are being developed in consultation with the local construction industry and the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) and the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA)
In addition to these 'Trade Courses' KAYEC also mainstreams issues of health (including HIV/AIDS awareness) Business and Employment Skills, Basic Mathematics and trade specific Technical Drawing.
Most of the technical courses are for three months, but some of the courses are completed in six weeks. KAYEC has developed its own training manuals which are referred to throughout the courses. The KAYEC manuals are easy to read and are rich in illustrations and diagrams. The manual also becomes a trainee resource book for further reference at a later stage. Start-up toolkits are made available to many graduates at the end of the course.
KAYEC's Youth Development (KYD) Program addresses the Educational, Psychosocial Support and HIV Prevention needs of vulnerable children and adolescents aged 12-18 who are in–school. The action will provide support for children to stay in school as a first line of defence. It will further provide a comprehensive life skills program that will include themes on: HIV, Gender Based Violence, Alcohol Abuse, Protection, Child Participation and others while building resilience and self esteem of participants. The KYD Program is run in 9 Namibian towns and reaches a total of 3470 OVC over a period of three years.