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Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore has directed all Kenyans planning to secure jobs in Germany under the government programme to acquaint themselves with German language before they travel.

Speaking in Mombasa during the Africa Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC) conference, Bore said Kenyans must get into local institutions and learn basics of the German language and get certified.

The CS said mandatory certification will be part of the consideration during the selection process. She said the government has set up a desk at the airport that will verify all the documents for the jobseekers.

Bore, who was in Germany this week, confirmed that so far the government has secured 250,000 jobs in Germany. President William Ruto was in Germany to explore employment opportunities for Kenyan citizens in the European nation.

“I want to tell jobseekers that they must learn German, that’s the basics, there are different levels, people must go to that institute and get different grades in the German language, I hear there are different grades like C1, C2, B1, B2 certificates.

Bore said in the next two months the government will have finalized bilateral labour agreements (BLA) with the European nation to pave the way for the first cohort of 250,000 Kenyans after the jobs were secured.

 “I met the labour ministry of Germany this week and signed the bilateral labour agreements (BLA), so in two weeks time, to ensure Kenyans who are transported get good dignified jobs,” said Bore.

The CS said Kenya has more advantage due to its youthful population which has proven to be a significant human resource in the globe.

“We have signed bilateral labor agreements (BLA’s) for 19 countries, because we don’t want to rely only on one job market, we are done with the Middle East and we are now expanding our job market source,” said Bore.

 The cabinet secretary further confirmed that all Kenyan employees seeking jobs overseas through the government plan will be subjected to a pre-departure training before they depart for the jobs.

“Those going to work outside, some of the conditions are a passport,pre-departure training certificate, which takes about two weeks, we have mounted a desk at the airport to verify all the documentation to show that you have documentation from NITA or affiliate colleges,” said Bore.

On November 19, Ruto flew to Germany in what he said was in search of job opportunities for Kenyans.