Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary (CS) Dr. Alfred Mutua said the government has secured over 2,000 foreign job opportunities targeting job seekers from Kisumu, Kisii, Nyamira, Migori, Homabay and Siaya counties.
Speaking when he presided over the opening ceremony of the 2-day recruitment exercise taking place at the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), Kisumu on the sidelines of the Nyanza International Investment Conference, the CS called on aspiring candidates from Nyanza counties to turn up for the overseas job opportunities recruitment drive.
“We have secured over 2,000 job opportunities for Nyanza residents in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Poland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Germany,” he said.
The programme, Dr. Mutua added, offers an incredible opportunity for unemployed Kenyans to secure better paying jobs abroad with offers available for both skilled and unskilled labour force.
He said licensed recruitment agencies were on site to recruit candidates for various job opportunities abroad in sectors such as ICT, construction, hospitality, healthcare, transport, domestic work, and nursing.
“For some positions, successful candidates could fly out before the start of Ramadhan or during the Ramadhan season and start earning immediately,” Mutua explained.
“Saudi Arabia for instance has offered over 300 slots for housemaid positions to be filled by the end of February,” the CS added.
Further, he said all successful candidates will be subjected to a special pre-departure training and orientation programmes before relocating.
The training implemented by NITA aims to provide migrant workers with a behavioural training programme and education on foreign cultures.
The CS lamented that most Kenyans working in foreign countries have been accused of their confrontational nature and spirit of entitlement which has made it difficult to secure more foreign jobs for deserving citizens.
“Part of our pre-departure training now has to include attitude. Foreign employers say Kenyan workers are the best. They are smart, hardworking, bright, organized and they speak very good English. But they have a bad attitude,” Dr. Mutua disclosed.
He added: “Foreign employers proposed that we should provide special education to Kenyans before they travel because Kenyans tend to be very activist-minded, arrogant, and confrontational. Others believe that the first thing Kenyans think about is violence, agitation and demonstration. So, we now have to include a programme to tell Kenyans to ‘chill’.”
Further, he emphasized that the state has issued a directive to the recruitment agencies to cap the recruitment fee at Sh50, 000 to make the programme affordable for the unemployed potential youths.
“Some positions may have zero recruitment fees. Others will require the applicants to pay for processing of medical tests, while some countries may not provide air tickets to successful candidates, so you will have to cater for such expenses,” Dr Mutua stated.
This initiative, he pointed out, underscores the government’s commitment to creating structured and legal pathways for Kenyans seeking employment overseas.
At the same time, CS Mutua clarified that the national job recruitment programme suspension on November 27, 2024 still stands to weed out cartels that had infiltrated the noble exercise. The public would be notified about any new developments in due course.
“We postponed the national programme so that we can take stock and fix a few problems that I saw. This is an industry of cartels with some agencies taking advantage of the initial program and charged applicants Sh600, 000. So I paused it,” he stated.
By Robert Ojwang’
