NAIROBI -- A Sino-Africa think tank is planning to boost the employment of African youth by increasing their skills in the construction sector.

Adedana Ashebir with the Sino-Africa Centre of Excellence (SACE) Foundation told Xinhua in Nairobi that they will roll out a project to strengthen the skills of Africa's labor force in the building sector.

"We have been in the planning stages for over a year now and we hope training will commence by the beginning of 2017," Ashebir said.

SACE said that project will begin as a pilot project in Kenya and will thereafter be rolled out to the rest of Africa.

In the past decade, a large number of Chinese firms have undertaken construction of infrastructure projects in many African states.

"We therefore want to make sure that Africans have the requisite skills to work for the Chinese firms," Ashebir said. SACE plans to partner with technical and vocational training centers in Kenya to undertake the project.

Ashebir said that the construction industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the continent with a potential to provide employment opportunities for millions of Africans.

She added that the issue of job creation is a key concern for most African governments. "High unemployment has multiple consequences such as increased poverty levels," she noted.

"Many African governments are therefore undertaking transformational projects with the help of the Chinese government," she observed.

According to SACE, Chinese firms can play a big role in modernizing Africa's building industry.