Unemployment: Adept youths to continue grappling with unemployment despite education.

Unemployment is a dungeon of damage. A look into our country describes Kenya as a hotbed of unemployment with most of the casualties being youths. The pain threshold unemployment causes to the youths is a big one. Getting a job in Kenya is indeed becoming impossible. When you talk to youth about him securing a job soon he won’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. He’ll disregard your words and tell you that in a country where the government misregards the voices of the youths there’s no hope.

In the recent past, a report by world bank stated that the unemployment rate in Kenya is set to rise this year. This means that we are yet to witness more retrenchments in our workplace. Job insecurity is to mount upwards to higher heights. Another report by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) ranks Kenya’s unemployment rate first in East Africa.

The estimates from newspaper reports reveal that 2000 jobs have been lost in retrenchment. With companies like Bamburi Cement, Standard Chartered Bank(Kenya) and Diageo planning major job cuts, there seem to be no good fortunes for the jobless youths.

Adept individuals with sought-after CVs are fighting a bruising battle with unemployment. A degree no longer guarantees employment. A proficient mind no longer attracts employees. The case of Kelvin Ochieng, an actuarial science graduate with a first-class degree, bitterly proved that excellent academic grades don’t come with a platter for employment.

Many youths are going through the bitter job-seeking experience. Having taken a bold step to pursue a particular degree, youths are betrayed by the government when they end up unemployed for years. As it turns out, Kenya incubates corruption, that’s why our environment is unconducive for the economy to thrive. The truth is, youths are being exposed to scandals and corruption oozing from the government making them respond through robbery and well-calculated bank heists.

Fingers are to be pointed to the government and our education system. Our education system doesn’t lean on creativity-it is the nemesis to creativity. From primary school to university level, we’ve been terrorized to work hard, get good grades and secure a wonderful job with a flowing income. It is this education system that painted into the hearts and brains of youths the benefits of white-collar employment in blue chip companies.

Jobless youths will remain unemployed for a while, not because they lack creativity, but because our education system is pathetic, and the government isn’t ready to put the creation of jobs on top of the development agenda. For now, let’s hope to see political agitations against unemployment.