This archive report was first published on 15 November 2019.
Published on November 15, 2019, Kenya's unemployment rate has remained a pressing issue, with a staggering 9.3 per cent of the population out of work, according to the World Bank. This figure has remained constant over the past decade.
Efforts to address joblessness among the youth have been made, including the formation of the National Employment Authority in 2016. However, despite these efforts, nine out of every 10 unemployed Kenyans are below 35 years old, highlighting the country's wasted youthful years.
Career Enlightenment, a jobs website, highlights several reasons why millennials take longer than other generations to get jobs. These include extremely high expectations, mismatched skills, a crowded and competitive job market, the wrong focus, student loans, negative attitude, and excessive activity on social sites.
Emmanuel Mutuma, CEO of Brighter Monday, a jobs website with presence in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, agrees with these reasons. Despite posting 2,000 jobs on average every month, they receive between 150,000 to 200,000 applications. Mutuma notes that many job seekers create profiles on the platform, but due to desperation, they tend to apply for jobs randomly without checking whether they are a match or not, setting themselves up for disappointment.
According to a 2017 Job Market Research conducted by Brighter Monday, 84 per cent of Kenyans are actively looking for jobs, with 77 per cent of these falling under the ages of 18 to 34. Remuneration and benefits ranked high in the key considerations for job seekers, followed by career progression, conducive work environment, and job security.
Andrew S Omollo, a 29-year-old legal assistant, shares his lessons during job searching. After graduating from Mt Kenya University in 2012, Omollo started looking for internships in various law firms. However, he was told that he did not have experience, despite having attachment experience. He eventually landed a volunteer position at the Nairobi City County, which came in handy when he got a year-long judiciary contract.
Seneiya Victoria, a 29-year-old events organiser, also shares her experience. She graduated in 2014 and did two internships, which strengthened her CV and made her a good candidate. She believes that being deliberate in applications and networking are key factors in landing a job.
