New graduates celebrate their achievements. Kenya has a high youth unemployment rate. PHOTO | FILE
By JAMES KARIUKI, jkariuki@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
They have been referred to as the generation
restless, entitled, with poor work ethics. These are the
15-29-year-olds, a majority of whom have no work and few prospects. Are
they a ticking time bomb under Kenya’s economy or do they present an
opportunity?
Nearly one in every five Kenyan youths of working age has no
job, according to the latest World Bank report. But going by youth
inactivity, which includes all those who are neither in work nor in
school, things look worse.
Scholars are now emphasising one problem: the
mismatch between the skills these young people offer and the ones that
employers need.
Prof Johannes Michael, Dr Helmut Danner and Dr
Monica Kerrets-Makau, a Strathmore Business School faculty member, said
Kenya urgently needs to review the curriculum from secondary school to
university and fill in the missing gaps that makes youth unemployable.
“For 53 years, I have straddled university
corridors and stood before thousands of students across the world. But
all is not well with the education-job market link. We need to ask
ourselves what we have done that is wrong and how other countries like
Germany have managed to address the problem,” said Prof Michael.
Time has come for all social, economic and
political differences to be placed aside and a whole new approach taken
to help create jobs for the youth, the scholars said during a book
launch ceremony attended by Education secretary Fred Matiang’i.
The three scholars have compiled a 214-page book
entitled Youth unemployment in Kenya—a ticking time bomb. The book,
with articles from 26 authors from across the world, aims to ignite
dialogue on youth joblessness.
Prof Michael said the establishment of vocational
institutions across the country is one way of addressing the mismatch
of skills and means to alleviate unemployment.
Germany, for instance, has the lowest youth jobless
rate as education is linked to work. Germany has high-quality
vocational education and apprenticeships, which have helped it reduce
youth unemployment despite a modest economic growth.
Kenya, with high youth unemployment, is short of
such links. Few graduates have any real experience of work because
universities do not focus on preparing students to fill jobs immediately
after graduation.
Companies complain about a shortage of technical skills.
“We do not seek to criticise the government as is
currently the norm but to indulge all Kenyans in meaningful dialogue
that seeks to formulate practical solutions,” said Dr Kerrets-Makau
said.
Dr Kerrets-Makau said the youths’ poor attitude towards work has also made even the best educated ones unemployable.
“They (youth) must change their work ethics and be
ready to learn life skills that will help them relate well with people.
Any person seeking to build a respectable lifestyle must be
responsible. Their current bad attitude is a “dead-end” strategy that
cannot realise any positive change,’’ she warned.
READ: What potential employers are looking for in fresh graduates
She said education must be continuously modelled around issues that solve current problems by tapping on individual talents.
“Kenya needs to embrace innovation and boost learners’
ability to think and come up with practical solutions to problems. The
changes to the education system must cease being a preserve of a few,’’
she said, adding that agro-processing provides an employment window for
the youth who can help drive value addition of agricultural produce.
Dr Matiang’i said about 500,000 young people enter
the job market every year, 72 per cent (360,000) of whom are aged below
30 years.
With the economy churning few jobs every year, this
idle youthful population is recruited to gangs, terror groups and
exploited by politicians.
‘‘Manipulation by politicians perpetuates a cycle
of political instability, ethnic wars and anti-regime activities,’’ said
Dr Matiang’i, adding that Kenya needs a dialogue “space” especially now
as the country prepares to change its curriculum to an education system
that reinvigorates youth talents to spur new and innovative solutions
that create new jobs.
Dr Danner said Kenya has inadequate jobs for the
youths while the youths are ill-prepared for the existing jobs. This,
he said, can best be cured by taking school children through a dual
education system that offers both theoretical and technical education at
different levels.
Children with various talents should be allowed to
attend talent-specific schools that enable them to pursue their
passion to perfection.
The most obvious reason for the mismatch is poor basic education, says Judy Chege, who works for Kenya Private Sector Alliance.
“Youths have gradually created a negative brand
for themselves in the labour market. Employers find it difficult to get a
young person who is employable since many have poor work ethics,
communication skills and lack independence,’’ she said.
“Some do not seem to have a grasp of simple grammar and basic writing.
“The application letters and CVs have glaring
spelling mistakes,” she said Ms Chege said emphasis should also be on
practical office experience with life skills included in the curriculum.
A deeper worry for the youth unemployment crisis is
that businesses are going through creative destruction. New technology
is unleashing a storm of “disruptive innovation” which is forcing
companies to trim staff or outsource to post profits.
This, the scholars observed, calls for deliberate attempt to focus on technology in learning institutions and the job market.
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