Kenya has relied on tertiary institutions and universities to produce generations of ‘ready-to-work’ graduates since independence. According to a British Council survey in 2017, the country has between 500,000 and 800,000 youth who graduate from primary, secondary and post-secondary institutions.

However, only 40 per cent of those who complete technical and vocational training secure employment. That means having a degree or diploma is no longer sufficient to gain employment. In creating a successful career, relevant job experience and skills are now just as important as exam scores. Perhaps nothing puts a business owner’s or manager’s leadership vision to the test more than hiring the right employees. This is due to lack of candidate options and an overreliance on traditional methods of recruitment, which emphasize academic qualifications.

As a result, employers are frequently faced with individuals who are brilliant on paper but perform poorly in practice. This, combined with difficult working conditions, has revealed a lack of soft skills in many tertiary institution graduates.

It’s no wonder then that today, a real concern for recruiters is that the skills learned in our tertiary institutions do not meet the needs of potential employers. According to a 2018 TIFA employer survey, there is a mismatch between the knowledge graduates possess and market demands, with 30 per cent of firms complaining about having a poorly skilled workforce. This mismatch between skills and labour market expectations is an impediment for young people to get jobs.

Resumes that reflect meaningful work history, whether through job experience, volunteer work, or having completed an internship, are valued in today’s job market. Internships and other work readiness programmes thus play an important role in bridging the gap between classroom theory and practice by providing foundational skills.

Collaborations between academia and corporate entities are one way to address existing job market gaps. As businesses, we have a role to play in preparing our youth for employment by promoting internship opportunities or providing work readiness programmes through partnerships.

As one perfect example, the government through the Ministry of ICT launched the Ajira Digital Skills programme to enable one million youth to get online jobs.  Over the years, Ajira has gained traction with partners such as the MasterCard Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Absa Bank Kenya, and Emobilis joining forces to support the initiative. Absa Bank Kenya has trained over 200,000 youth since the programmes’ inception in 2015. Absa’s Ready-to-Work initiative is a free training curriculum that provides work experience, people skills, money skills and entrepreneurial skills that are required for employment or self-employment.

Stronger collaborations between academic institutions and employers will be critical to improve the pipeline of new workers and identify curriculum gaps.

A change in the training curriculum used in higher education institutions will also reduce the need for on-the-job training that businesses provide for new employees.

Lastly, the private sector can also participate in the formulation of youth and education policies that meet market needs, provide work experience and mentorships, and facilitate the access of youth to markets, capital, and networks. Investing in young people can only result in a win-win situation.

—Jane Waiyaki is the head of sustainability at Absa Bank Kenya.