NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 4 – Youth, Sports and Arts Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ababu Namwamba has said that the country’s economy is currently not in a position to accommodate 800, 000 youths graduating annually from tertiary institutions.
Speaking during a Job Summit hosted by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Namwamba echoed President William Ruto’s agenda of job creation and entrepreneurship, saying the country must now focus on job creation and not employment.
“Notably, Kenya’s current economy is unable to create sufficient jobs for the over 800 000 youth who graduate annually from tertiary colleges and our universities,” said the CS.
“We should encourage, educate and empower young entrepreneurs. We must shift from merely talking about getting jobs to talking about inventing jobs, to talking about entrepreneurship that engages all our young people,” he noted.
Namwamba urged youths to take advantage of the government’s ‘Hustler Fund’ initiative that is set to be launched in a month’s to expand their respective Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The KAM Chief Executive Officer Anthony Mwangi said the summit will support job creation for young people while improving linkage between skills supply (TVET) and demand (industry).
The summit whose theme was ‘Driving manufacturing growth through sustainable skills development’ was aimed at having engaging discussions on youth employment opportunities within the manufacturing sector, while acknowledging the need for proper skills in maintaining a more resilient workforce.
The program also kicked off advocacy campaigns around manufacturing growth and jobs as KAM works to increase manufacturing by 20 per cent by the year 2030.
