Unemployment. That’s every graduate’s nightmare. After racking up a significant amount of debt in the form of a HELB loan, most graduates fear they will end up securing positions in organisations fondly referred in the streets to as NGOs. Such organisations have nothing to do with charity rather in full they are known as ‘Nothing Going On’.
According to a World Bank report, your chances of getting employed as a graduate are 16 to one. Meanwhile, statistical abstracts from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) states that only 513,000 jobs have been created since they made their last report in 2011. All these positions have since been filled.
Below is a list of fields and the number of people who had jobs in these sectors between 2010 and 2011:
Field | Number of People with Jobs in 2010 | Number of People with Jobs in 2011 | Number of Jobs Created within that period |
Community, Social Services, Personal Businesses | 843,700 | 864,300 | 20,600 |
Agriculture and Forestry | 343,800 | 345,900 | 2,100 |
Manufacturing | 268,100 | 275,700 | 7,600 |
Trade Restaurants and Hotels | 226,900 | 238,600 | 11,700 |
Transport and Communications | 151,300 | 157,400 | 6,100 |
Building and Construction | 101,300 | 109,000 | 7,700 |
Finance Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services | 99,300 | 107,300 | 8,000 |
Electricity and water | 19,600 | 20,700 | 1,100 |
Mining and Quarrying | 6,600 | 8,800 | 2,200 |
Informal Sector | 8,826,200 | 9,272,100 | 445,900 |
Total | 10,886,800 | 11,399,800 | 513,000 |
While the informal sector has the highest likelihood of providing you with employment, most graduates want white-collar jobs; but the right credentials can only get you so far.
What can you do about it?
Work hard, never give up and hope for the best. This is the best way to survive in any competitive environment. This is according to a Ernst and Young article on 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year report. The report, which drew conclusions from previous award winners, states that experience was never enough to get them the jobs they wanted. A bit of luck a lot of effort was also needed in order to give them that extra push.
According to a World Bank report, your chances of getting employed are 16 to one.
A report on maximizing employment opportunities states that one of the best ways to stay ahead of the competition is to get some more experience. Pursuing an extra Diploma or Master’s course will give you an advantage over some candidates as soon as you graduate. Where money for new courses is tight, graduates are advised to attend seminars that offer certificates of participation. Volunteer work, internships and work-study programmes also look good on your CV.