When the Labour ministry announced 3,000 job vacancies in the Gulf, 20,000 Kenyans turned up for interviews at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. The high number shows that Kenyans has a huge unskilled or semi-skilled labour force out of work.

It is notable that the Gulf is attractive to young men and women because Kenya’s agreement with host countries is for domestic labour. Despite the low-cadre skills exported, nearly 80 percent of candidates could not meet the requirements in technical areas.

Selected candidates are supposed to cover the costs for their medical tests and travel documents, though the ministry will assist those lacking passports if they are hired.

According to Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, the government was “committed to pushing for more job openings internationally and exploring ways to decentralise the hiring process to make it accessible across Kenya”. There is no doubt that the export labour has been a major source of remittances for the economy and sources of income for relatives of those working beyond the seas.

However, in the past the hiring process was replete with corruption among rogue agencies that seem to get protection from powerful State officials. The activities of the National Employment Authority have not been above board either, with accusations that hiring at the agency itself was skewed in favour of political rejects and bureaucrats from President William Ruto’s ethnic community.

The authority has been blamed for poor preparation and orientation of migrant labour about the culture of their would-be hosts. This exposes young Kenyans to cruelty and other forms of abuse from their foreign employers. That is why we are concerned about reports that the construction of an Arabic home-setting model house at the Mombasa campus of the National Industrial Training Authority has been mired in controversy over poor workmanship.

The house, sponsored by the International Labour Organization, is designed to help Kenyan domestic workers preparing for employment in Saudi Arabia adapt to the cultural and domestic expectations of their prospective workplaces.

It aims to mitigate culture shock, one of the key challenges Kenyan migrant workers face in the Gulf region. We ask authorities responsible to intervene and ensure the important project is not ruined.