So today on the Citizen panel, Rashid and Wife hosted jobless youths, the guy who hosted the now famous Acturial Science student after finding him homeless on the streets of Nairobi. Joblessness in Kenya should be declared a national disaster and a taskforce put together because researchers are quoting that there are 9-11 millions of educated Kenyans mostly youths who are jobless. This is a security risk to the country. I think even basic employment is better than no employment. I think we all remember one Alshabab radicalised guy who had a firsst class degree in either Mechanical or Electrical Engineering but was jobless for 10 years. The reservoir of highly educated youths is a ticking time bomb that can be tapped into by malicious elements. Many unstable countries in the world became unstable because of too many young,jobless,highly skilled and hopeless young people. Radical groups and militias easily recruit such youths who are disillusioned by their country.
The few points Ive garnered from the panel are:
1) Highly educated people are working at semi skilled or very basic casual laborer jobs like Parking cars in town( please guys ukipark gari pea hawa watu wa parking kitu some of them are people with first class degrees) .Yes. The acturial science guy and his host both were parking cars to get something to eat.
2)Even basic jobs that recquire minimal skill like mjei recquire documents that costs money. According to the guy who hosted the acturial science guy, you need atleast 4k to obtain documents to work at ile mjei iko Ngara, he quoted NSSF,NHIF,Certificate of good conduct and something about health.
3) Another mass employer of many degree holders is MPESA and boda boda business, a female panelist who did Accounting and CPAs had to get a microfinance loan to start the MPESA which is what she is doing since 2012 to date.
Now I have a few personal experiences I can speak of:
1) I know a gentleman who has done alot of different jobs from tailoring jeans, to having a security firm ,to landscaping ,to DJ, to a doctor or clinical officer but I know he has studied up to diploma level
2) A street kid who joined my church through street evangelism at Jeevanjee Gardens who I wanted to help so much but I was coming up blank on how to assist him because he did not even have an ID. Let alone any education. He is from Nyahururu and I was pushing him to get the ID as we think of a way forward. So he finally got the ID though it took some bribes coz hakuwa na any document. So he wanted to do driving or mechanic but niliona hio hata pata job tena the mechanics I knew were afraid he may steal things because he is a street kid, so I told him aende afikirie what else he can do..Btw pia yeye he was doing parking work . He lived under UON bridge with some other boys . He decided to get a trolley and start working with it. And I am happy he now moved out of the streets and lives in Mwiki.
So basically naona even with no education you can find something to do and build your life pole pole but kama you are not aggressive or innovative you may not make it. Btw nowadays kuna hizi apps for food delivery akina glovo. You can cook food in your house and have it delivered . Also you can do mobile beautician where you can offer beauty services to incapacitated people or nursing mothers who dont want to leave home. There is also alot of work in the area of nursing aides for seniors with dementia or who are bed ridden. There are so many problems in this world that you can solve and make money from it. However our education system is under represented in where the real needs of the population is.
The other issue in this country is that we have investor flight due to too much corruption when making market entry and too high cost of doing business especially for manufacturing industries that rely heavily on electricity. Heads of states of some of neighbours are exploiting this weakness to take industries that could have been in Kenya and have provided jobs for our youths. Jobs are leaving Kenya at alarming rate due to investment flight.
The other issue is high and ever rising cost of basic commodities. Government owes its citizenry affordable basic commodities. And Government should subsidize these commodities because this is one of the reasons we pay tax. To cushion the vulnerable and ensure affordable access to basic commodities, when inflation hits the economy. I also wonder what the work of advocacy groups in Kenya like Kenya Consumer Federation are doing to check excesses ama wamewekwa kwa mfuko kama Atwoli.
The other issue is insisting on maximum attrition rates where technical colleges for artisans and other needed skill sets have been turned into universities and constituent colleges. During my time there was nothing like bridging courses or pre university . If you didnt have marks for university then you went to technical colleges,polytechnics and middle level colleges, to learn a skill like what NYS is offering. All Kenyans can not go to university. And that does not mean that they can not make a livelihood or be gainfully employed or self employed.
Prof.Ndii , an Oxford University PhD says the job situation in Kenya is completely untenable and technocrats need to sit and sort it as a matter of priority. This is why we have government ,bring back TVET in a big way. I saw something about a welfare system to fund unemployed Kenyans, to me this is yet another conduit for mega corruption like Jenga Boma . Kenyans need to work, not handouts, handouts peeni vulnerable groups ongezeni their stipend.
The few points Ive garnered from the panel are:
1) Highly educated people are working at semi skilled or very basic casual laborer jobs like Parking cars in town( please guys ukipark gari pea hawa watu wa parking kitu some of them are people with first class degrees) .Yes. The acturial science guy and his host both were parking cars to get something to eat.
2)Even basic jobs that recquire minimal skill like mjei recquire documents that costs money. According to the guy who hosted the acturial science guy, you need atleast 4k to obtain documents to work at ile mjei iko Ngara, he quoted NSSF,NHIF,Certificate of good conduct and something about health.
3) Another mass employer of many degree holders is MPESA and boda boda business, a female panelist who did Accounting and CPAs had to get a microfinance loan to start the MPESA which is what she is doing since 2012 to date.
Now I have a few personal experiences I can speak of:
1) I know a gentleman who has done alot of different jobs from tailoring jeans, to having a security firm ,to landscaping ,to DJ, to a doctor or clinical officer but I know he has studied up to diploma level
2) A street kid who joined my church through street evangelism at Jeevanjee Gardens who I wanted to help so much but I was coming up blank on how to assist him because he did not even have an ID. Let alone any education. He is from Nyahururu and I was pushing him to get the ID as we think of a way forward. So he finally got the ID though it took some bribes coz hakuwa na any document. So he wanted to do driving or mechanic but niliona hio hata pata job tena the mechanics I knew were afraid he may steal things because he is a street kid, so I told him aende afikirie what else he can do..Btw pia yeye he was doing parking work . He lived under UON bridge with some other boys . He decided to get a trolley and start working with it. And I am happy he now moved out of the streets and lives in Mwiki.
So basically naona even with no education you can find something to do and build your life pole pole but kama you are not aggressive or innovative you may not make it. Btw nowadays kuna hizi apps for food delivery akina glovo. You can cook food in your house and have it delivered . Also you can do mobile beautician where you can offer beauty services to incapacitated people or nursing mothers who dont want to leave home. There is also alot of work in the area of nursing aides for seniors with dementia or who are bed ridden. There are so many problems in this world that you can solve and make money from it. However our education system is under represented in where the real needs of the population is.
The other issue in this country is that we have investor flight due to too much corruption when making market entry and too high cost of doing business especially for manufacturing industries that rely heavily on electricity. Heads of states of some of neighbours are exploiting this weakness to take industries that could have been in Kenya and have provided jobs for our youths. Jobs are leaving Kenya at alarming rate due to investment flight.
The other issue is high and ever rising cost of basic commodities. Government owes its citizenry affordable basic commodities. And Government should subsidize these commodities because this is one of the reasons we pay tax. To cushion the vulnerable and ensure affordable access to basic commodities, when inflation hits the economy. I also wonder what the work of advocacy groups in Kenya like Kenya Consumer Federation are doing to check excesses ama wamewekwa kwa mfuko kama Atwoli.
The other issue is insisting on maximum attrition rates where technical colleges for artisans and other needed skill sets have been turned into universities and constituent colleges. During my time there was nothing like bridging courses or pre university . If you didnt have marks for university then you went to technical colleges,polytechnics and middle level colleges, to learn a skill like what NYS is offering. All Kenyans can not go to university. And that does not mean that they can not make a livelihood or be gainfully employed or self employed.
Prof.Ndii , an Oxford University PhD says the job situation in Kenya is completely untenable and technocrats need to sit and sort it as a matter of priority. This is why we have government ,bring back TVET in a big way. I saw something about a welfare system to fund unemployed Kenyans, to me this is yet another conduit for mega corruption like Jenga Boma . Kenyans need to work, not handouts, handouts peeni vulnerable groups ongezeni their stipend.
