Labour Cabinet Secretary (CS) Dr. Alfred Mutua has announced a nationwide overseas jobs recruitment drive to support Kenyans interested in securing jobs abroad.
The exercise, which kicks off on Wednesday next week in Machakos County, targets all 47 counties following the recent successful recruitment of 3,247 Kenyans by a Qatar firm.
Dr. Mutua said the nationwide recruitment drive was informed by the untold suffering Kenyans from across the country endured to participate in the interviews conducted at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) and Kabete National Polytechnic.
“We noticed people came from all over the country. It is unfair to have people travel for thousands of kilometres with others spending the night at the recruitment venues. Instead of them going through this, we are taking the jobs to them in all the 47 counties,” he said.
The Qatar Company, which was out to recruit 8,000 people, he said, is back in the country to recruit an additional 5, 000 Kenyans for the remaining slots, urging Kenyans to take advantage and show up at recruitment venues at county headquarters across the country.
Other offers, he added, have been made by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), adding that all the jobs and specifications shall be posted on the Ministry website and other government portals.
The opportunities, he added, shall be shared on a quota basis, assuring that each county will get their rightful share.
The recruitment drive in the counties, he said, shall be carried out at Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) centres in all the county headquarters to ensure that the applicants are tested for the requisite skills as outlined by the job’s specifications.
He said the Ministry of Labour officials spearheading the exercise shall be accompanied by registered recruitment agencies and officers from other relevant government agencies, among them the National Police Service (NPS) and the Immigration Department, to fast-track the issuance of certificates of good conduct and passports for the successful candidates.
The county-to-county exercise, which targets to secure jobs for at least one million Kenyans, he said, shall be conducted in a free and transparent manner, giving equal chance to all jobless, qualified, and skilled Kenyans to secure jobs abroad.
Addressing the media in Kisumu after attending a Parliamentary Departmental Committee on Labour meeting, the CS asked all Kenyans seeking jobs abroad to prepare themselves for the exercise by putting their documents in order.
“During the recent recruitment drive, some of those who missed the opportunity had not put their documents in order. Others, out of fatigue and hunger, were not able to put up a good show. Therefore, you must all prepare by applying for the certificate of good conduct on the E-Citizen portal so that when the exercise comes to your county, you go for it,” he said.
Most of the job listings, he added, were offering a salary ranging from Sh 40,000 to Sh 1 million depending on the cadre, calling on Kenyans to take up the opportunities to transform their lives economically.
“When you go out there and earn this kind of money, you can save and come back, build a house, and support your family, and the government continues to improve our economy,” he said.
National Assembly Departmental Committee on Labour Chairman Muchangi Karemba lauded the Ministry for the initiative, saying it was the only way out in guaranteeing equal access to job opportunities offered to the Kenyan government by partner states.
“The committee is in full support of this programme. Going to the regions is a very good idea. It is going to ensure that all our youths from all the 47 counties have access to these opportunities,” he said.
By Chris Mahandara
