Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has said that President William Ruto’s administration is negotiating for more jobs for Kenyans abroad.
During his meeting with Labour & Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Kindiki noted that the government is intensifying its training of the youth in the Technical and Vocational Education centres in line with the required skills.
“President William Ruto’s administration is negotiating for more job opportunities abroad under the export of labour programme. To tackle the youth unemployment challenge, the Government is investing in Technical and Vocational Education to equip millions of young people across the country with market-ready knowledge, skills and competencies,” Kindiki said.
The deputy president also stated that the government would create fully functional ICT hubs in all 290 constituencies to expose the youth to job opportunities available overseas and online.
One million jobs
“I received a briefing from Alfred Mutua, Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection, on the ongoing recruitment and sensitization programme that targets to secure 1 million jobs per year through the export of labour programme. Additionally, the Government is setting up ICT Hubs in each of the 290 Constituencies to expose the youth to lucrative digital jobs and transform them economically,” Kindiki added.
Kindiki indicated that to ensure a structured and beneficial labour migration programme, Kenya would be signing more bilateral labour agreements with other countries to open up opportunities for Kenyans in semi-skilled and professional fields.
This comes in the wake of thousands of youth who were turned away after a Qatari company noticed they were ill-equipped for the semi-skilled jobs of electrical installation and plumbing among other various jobs.
Skilled workers
During the exercise conducted at the Kabete National Polytechnic, CS Mutua said that the company had failed to obtain 3,000 skilled Kenyans despite the turn-up for interviews exceeding 20,000 interviewees.
To cast the net wider, the interviews were further pushed after the number of Kenyans with the requisite skills.
Mutua also revealed that an additional 5,000 job opportunities would be available to Kenyans in the month of November in the concerted efforts to plug the unemployment scourge in the country.
In September, Ruto said he had signed a labour migration agreement with Germany which would see at least 250,000 Kenyans travel to the European nation and secure jobs.
“One of them is the agreement we just signed. This agreement will unlock 250,000 job opportunities for young people from Kenya,” Ruto told an international journalist on September 15, 2024.
