Survey: Employers go for new skills post covid

By Awal Mohammed 

As the world shakes off the last vestiges of the Pandemic, you will need to relook into your skill tool if at all you want to remain relevant post coronavirus.

This is according to a job sector study conducted by a recruitment agency in the country that was released on Wednesday.

The study identified a select set of skills that employers would be looking for post covid as companies seek to maximize employee output while minimising their overhead bills.

"Soft skills like adaptability and agility, emotional intelligence, growth mindset, and creativity is what employers will be looking for. On the other hand, hard skills like digital and coding skills, data analytics and literacy, technology skills, and security will be the most sought after skills that you need to possess if at all you want to remain relevant in the job market “said Brighter Monday chief executive officer Emmanuel Mutuma.
The report comes on the background of another study released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) which showed that almost 25 million jobs would be lost worldwide as a result of the pandemic.
According to the report Kenya’s GDP is projected to decelerate substantially in 2020 due to the negative impact of Covid 19 pandemic while the economic projection remains highly uncertain.
Statistics from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate that about 1.7m more people have lost jobs due to Covid-19 pandemic wiping away some of the informal jobs and also triggering a slowdown in the economy.
Labour experts worry that the pandemic will worsen the country’s unemployment problem which they have projected will double from 5.1 per cent to 10.2 per cent.
According to KNBS the number of people out of active labour force increased by 435,369 people to 8.53 million in the first quarter of this year.
This figure is expected to rise as the pandemic rolled over the rest of the year with the most affected being the youth.
“The highest proportion of the unemployed was recorded in the age groups of 20-24 and 25-29, each registering over 20 per cent of jobs lost during the pandemic,” said Mutuma.