The government has organized a strategic engagement with private recruitment agencies in a bid to streamline the recruitment system in exported labour.
The streamlining will cover job application, travel logistics to taking care of Kenyan citizens working abroad for the growth of the economy that benefits all.
The meeting, organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, aims to bring together the government and private agencies together to have a heart-to-heart talk on how the latter could make money, how young people in the country could find ways to get money other than just being employed as casual labourers and help to resolve the teething issues by keeping promises made for a fresh start with a new system that works.
Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Labour and Social Protection Dr. Alfred Mutua insisted that the government and the agencies needed to come up with a solution that would get people employed and grow the economy since the agent’s job is not only to send the young citizens to other countries for work but also empower them to work in their own country.
He observed that as the economy grows in real time, the country needs to provide jobs for the young people but instead, the rest of the world takes advantage of the unemployed Kenyan workforce by importing available labour when the country has a perfect environment to work and live in.
“If we manage the process and do things properly, the country will have a good score,” added Dr. Mutua.
Speaking in Nairobi on Wednesday, the CS announced that 570 licensed recruitment agencies were registered in National Employment Agencies terming it as a good number that could be doubled to 1,500 to accommodate a lot of jobs since the market is large.
He revealed that the online application system has currently posted 466,000 jobs in the system from different countries in the world, and urged agencies to access the available jobs in the website which could accommodate a lot of people.
However, Dr. Mutua pointed out that the unlicensed operating agencies were some of the challenges being faced and urged the agencies to get licensed immediately cautioning that the government would not be polite to those doing the contrary.
Additionally, he cited the challenge of recruitment stressing that it should be national and accessible to each and every part of the country.
The CS also highlighted conflict of interest by the political class as another challenge in the recruitment terming such behaviour as unhelpful in solving the problem of integrity.
He admitted that the recruitment system has got a problem and that the Ministry of Labour and the State Department of Diaspora Affairs has nonetheless done quite a bit making towards making things better.
“We are dealing with the issue of smuggling and trafficking of persons,” stated the CS, adding that people were traveling with fake documents including forged police clearance, and training certificates while there were cases of employment agencies in Kenya receiving commissions from foreign employers and declining to deliver on the same.
He emphasised the need to give a proper database in order to report fair and accurate information on migrant workers who have been recruited.
Further, Dr. Mutua cautioned agents from taking clients’ passports terming it a criminal act since nobody has a right to take someone else’s passport unless through a court order.
The CS highlighted other challenges including renewal of passports, limited issues of medication, delay engagement in police clearance and security among others, saying that the Ministry would ensure the agencies work which will consequently streamline the system.
“I encourage the agencies to cut down costs if it means giving a chance to recruit more people and assist in streamlining the service so they can push as many job seekers as possible for employment,” he reiterated.
By Sharon Atieno
