In Kenya it’s extremely hard to get a job especially if you are a fresh graduate. It takes 3-10 years for one to secure a stable job in Kenya. If you don’t know job hunting skills, you may not get a job after all.
Why exactly is it hard for one to get job in Kenya?
- Too many graduates
The number of graduates in Kenya is more than the available job opportunities. Every year, more than 1 million Kenyans graduate with degrees, diploma and certificate courses and nearly all of them join others in search of employment. One job advert attracts over 1,000 applicants.
Since our economy is still young, it can’t absorb all the graduates.
- Shrinking economy
Over the past 10 years, a number of industries have closed down, which is a sign of shrinking economy. For all the graduates to secure employment, economy must grow.Unfortunately,the government is not doing enough to ensure that there are more and more job opportunities.
Everyone is looking for a job, few want to become entrepreneurs.
- Nepotism and tribalism
In Kenya it’s hard to get a job without connections. It’s either you know someone or someone is your relative. Those who don’t have connections often find themselves jobless for a long time.
- Lack of job hunting skills
Majority of graduates in Kenya only know how to study hard and pass exams, they don’t know how to look for employment. You find someone with a degree not making any effort of dropping CVs, they only wait for relatives to connect them or jobs to be advertised in the newspaper for them to apply.
One of the best ways to hunt for a job is by dropping blind job applications—it has worked for many Kenyan graduates.
- Graduates are choosy
Most of the available jobs are for school dropouts and those who don’t discriminate against any job. Most graduates believe that when they possess degrees, they are not supposed to do some work. If you tell someone to apply for a job at G4S as a security guard, they will flatly reject. Graduates want jobs which pay them Ksh 100,000 and above per month, which are not available.
Graduated also don’t want to start from bottom, they are looking for well-paying jobs which are not available.
Majority of jobless graduates didn’t pursue marketable courses
Those graduates who secured employment immediately after graduating had pursued marketable courses. Some of the most marketable courses in Kenya include:
- Bachelor of Law
- Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery
- Bachelor of Pharmacy
- Bachelor of Software Engineering
- Bachelor of Quantity Surveying
- Diploma and Bachelor in Nursing
- Bachelor of Architecture
- Majority of graduates wants to be employed, few are entrepreneurs
Nearly all graduates are looking for jobs, few are ready to start their own businesses. Since the government offers less than 1 million jobs, the private sector does not provide enough opportunities either. If Kenyans had the spirit of entrepreneurship, nobody could be jobless.
