Form Four Leavers Seeking Hospitality Courses Can Now Apply to Utalii College Through KUCCPS

Form Four leavers seeking to pursue hospitality and tourism courses will, for the first time, be placed at Kenya Utalii College through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).

The milestone follows a new partnership between the two institutions, which now opens a new pathway for Form Four leavers seeking careers in tourism at one of Kenya’s most prestigious hospitality training institutions.

The collaboration is expected to widen access to Utalii College’s hospitality and tourism programmes by bringing the specialised institution onto the national placement platform that allocates government-sponsored students to universities and colleges.

Under the arrangement, applicants to Utalii College will enrol through KUCCPS, a move that the two institutions say will enhance fairness, merit and national reach in student admissions.

Plans are underway to roll out the partnership ahead of the 2026 placement application cycle for universities and technical and vocational education and training institutions.

Speaking on Monday during a meeting at Kenya Utalii College in Nairobi, KUCCPS chief executive Mercy Wahome and Utalii College principal Mark Ogendi described the collaboration as a major shift in access to hospitality training.

Wahome said the KUCCPS placement system was designed to promote equity and transparency in access to higher education and training opportunities, while enabling institutions to attract students from across the country.

“There is equity in the process, ensuring that institutions achieve the face of Kenya,” she said, noting that placement through KUCCPS would allow Utalii College to reach learners from diverse regions and backgrounds.

Beyond student placement, the partnership will also extend to labour market research, career pathway development and grassroots mobilisation to encourage students to take up available training opportunities in the hospitality and tourism sector.

The initiative forms part of the wider whole-of-government approach aimed at taking technical and vocational training closer to citizens.

Last week, KUCCPS and Kenya Utalii College joined the ministries of education and tourism at Tinderet Integrated Training and Vocational Institute in Nandi County, where Utalii College formally launched its programmes.

Ogendi said joining the KUCCPS platform would also create opportunities for collaboration with other institutions offering tourism and hospitality courses.

“With KUCCPS’ coordination, we also look forward to engaging with other colleges offering tourism and hospitality programmes to harmonise training standards,” he said.

The end goal is to harmonise training standards across the sector, he said.

Kenya Utalii College becomes the latest specialised institution to come under the KUCCPS placement framework, which is billed as fair, efficient and transparent.

Other institutions that have joined the platform in recent years include the Kenya School of Law and the Morendat Institute of Oil and Gas.

Last year, the Kenya School of Law began offering its Diploma in Law (Paralegal Studies) through KUCCPS, while the Morendat Institute availed its certificate and diploma programmes on the same platform.

Ogendi said working with KUCCPS would help Utalii College reach students from all parts of the country as it seeks to expand its physical presence beyond Nairobi to other regions, including Kisumu, Kilifi and Narok counties.

Kenya Utalii College, an affiliate member of UN Tourism, is a recognised centre of excellence that has trained skilled workers for the Kenyan and global hospitality and tourism markets for five decades.

The institution is known for its competency-based training model, which has produced graduates working in leading tourism establishments locally and abroad.

KUCCPS is a government agency established under the Universities Act, 2012.

It’s mandated to coordinate the placement of government-sponsored students to universities and colleges, developing career guidance programmes and collecting data on student placement to higher learning institutions.

The KUCCPS placement cycle for the 2026/27 academic year is expected to open around March/April 2026 for the initial application for KCSE graduates, with revision periods expected in May/June.

During the January 17-18 weekend, the service carried out citizen engagement and career guidance activities in Nandi and Kirinyaga counties with key activities including career guidance, KMTC application support and tree growing.