Former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo has requested employers in public and private sector to scrap work experience requirements for first-time job seekers who are mostly youths.
Kabogo argues that Kenya’s population is made of educated, vibrant and visionary youths who are ready to drive the economy to greater heights if presented with job opportunities by the society.
“Where do you expect these graduates with no experience to get experience from if you are not ready to present or create for them job opportunities, our youths are educated and they should not be discriminated nor denied job opportunities’ just because they don’t have experience, after all, internships provide them the requisite skills, “he said.
He states that youth unemployment in the Country is estimated at about 70 percent with 5 years experience slag required by the employers being a contributing factor. Kabogo notes that a joint intervention by the government and the private sector is urgently required.
He argues that for youths absorbed without experience, a model should be structured in such a way that it does not compromise the professional and technical requirements for various fields adding that all that Kenyans want is to streamline career paths and align skills.
Kabogo described the high rate of youth unemployment as a ticking bomb, with frustrated educated young men and women susceptible to drugs, prostitution, or even being lured into terrorism.
Recent data from the Ministry of Education indicate that of the 1 million young people entering the job market from universities and colleges every year, only one out of five is likely to get a job in the formal sector.
In 2018, South Africa scraped work experience requirement for first-time job seekers in an effort to reduce unemployment and crime incidences.