Youths interested in jobs abroad can check the legal status of their recruiting agency with the National Employment Authority and the Ministry of Labour so that they do not lose their money to rogue agents.
Diaspora Affairs PS Roselyne Njogu has said those seeking jobs in marine vessels, such as cruise ships, can also access information on marine work recruiters from the website of the Kenya Maritime Authority.
Njogu was speaking in Embu while attending the 2nd Mt. Kenya East Diaspora Jobs Fair, accompanied by the Embu Governor, Cecily Mbarire, and the Technical and Vocation Education Training PS, Dr. Esther Muoria.
The fair brought together diaspora job recruiters, technical and vocational education training institutes, and government departments, where they advised the youth on what they needed to access jobs abroad.
Njogu said the Ministry of Labour had cracked the whip on the rogue agents, who abandoned their clients in foreign lands after enticing them to sign for fictitious contracts.
On her part, Mbarire noted that over 300 youths showed up at the fair each day, which demonstrated how serious the problem of unemployment was in the country.
She said her government is considering setting up a fund in the next budget that will assist youth from disadvantaged families in acquiring the necessary papers if they get the chance to work abroad.
The governor challenged the youth to acquire skills that are in demand abroad to improve their chances of securing the opportunities.
Dr. Muoria said TVET institution trainers had been retrained to update their skills and that arrangements had been made for skilled workers who did not have papers to be certified by the institutions.
She added that training in TVETs had been broken into skill sets to make it easier for those needing training to carry out specified tasks, where they could be quickly helped to acquire the much-needed skills.
By Steve Gatheru
