MEASURES NEEDED TO DEAL WITH UNEMPLOYMENT IN KENYA

The current Government should attribute on creating new jobs to ensure that there is improved economic conditions, increased access to affordable credit from banks, the Women Enterprise Fund and the Youth Development Fund, which aided in starting and expanding businesses thereby creating more jobs.

 

The following are some of the solutions and changes that should be directed to the country to improve the employment rate and they should be at both personal and Government level:

1. Change our education system

In the current education system, institutions teach our scholars that success is defined by the kind of employment they will land on after campus.So they will have to depend on someone to create that employment for them. Why not teach them to create employment for others?

The foundation laid for students toady, will determine the future of this nation. Higher learning institutions must teach students to be individuals, be different, inspire creativity, and engage them to work with their hands. Entrepreneurship should be a leading unit in all learning institutions, and as matter of courses, students should come up with their own business plans and business proposals while still in schools.

2. Change attitude towards various sectors

This calls for a change of attitude towards those who work in the informal sector, Jua Kali, who are currently the single largest employer. Yet we look upon the people who work in this sector as second rate citizens. It is a last resort for those who do not get absorbed by the white collar jobs or where we go after the corporate world has usurped our product years.

Voluntary work must be offered to keep unemployed citizens occupied. Furthermore, government must step in, to help people find other methods of catering for the needs fulfilled by employment.

Shouldn’t this be the first stop for majority of us, especially when you are young and are full of ideas that you can build on. We will have to learn to engage peoples’ gifting and turn them into a lucrative, income generating ventured. Otherwise we will remain a consumer country till we learn to nurture growth of small industries and stop importing everything.

3. Protect local industries

The country should stop importing everything, especially agricultural products. By supporting the local sectors such as the farmers, they will not only feed us but provides employment opportunities within his locality.Higher emphasis should be placed on promoting rural employment by providing support to cottage industries and agriculture.

4. Protect Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

The SME sector is the fastest growing sector of the economy and has enormous potential to create jobs. Surprisingly, of all the policy interventions proposed for 2011 no specific mention is made about giving direct support to SMEs to enable them grow and continue creating jobs to absorb the many unemployed youth churned out by our schools and educational institutions every year.

It is a recognized fact that SMEs play an important role in many developing economies, including Kenya. This is reflected in the areas in which banks — big and small — are opening up new branches lately. They are going to neighborhoods where SMEs thrive. There is clearly worthwhile economic activity in these locations, which were previously shunned.

The government should therefore ensure that these sectors enjoy a friendly environment in performing operations and policies such as taxation should be friendly as well.

5. Enhance income and productivity

Efforts to enhance income and productivity in Kenya’s informal work sector should be intensified. The Government should also facilitate better access to essentials of production like capital, land and enhanced training and technology to facilitate effective marketing of products.