The Ministry of Information has started an initiative to train youth on online job opportunities as well as provide a digital platform where they can find freelance work.
Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, during a breakfast discussion on Wednesday, indicated that this initiative is meant to make Kenya the “freelance capital” of the world.
He said Kenya is unique in that it has a lot of skilled workers without jobs, which multinationals have taken advantage of and are now outsourcing work to Kenyans.
He, however, said many Kenyans are not taking up the opportunities or are even aware of the fact that they can make money from working online from the comfort of their computers.
There are about 40,000 registered online workers operating in the country currently, he said.
Ajira is an online platform where jobseekers register for training – a week-long process - before one can start looking for available jobs online, according to field of specialisation or interests.
Mr Mucheru said there are 1.3 million online jobs available for Kenyans to explore and those who have taken up such jobs are earning up to Sh50,000 a month and more.
“We want to be the freelancing capital of the world. This is possible because we have a lot of young skilled people who are ready to work but the challenge Kenya faces is it has no jobs to give them, but online platforms have the potential to employ all of them,” said the CS.
Not offering work
“And it should also be understood that we are not offering work, but creating a platform with all the resources where you can get trained, get certified and find work online,” he said.
"The ministry is going to create an enabling environment in that it will spearhead creating awareness of changes going on in world and the opportunities that exist online, provided connectivity (internet and electricity), and conduct trainings," he said.
Mr Mucheru said Kenya plans to build four innovation hubs in every constituency complete with the right connectivity and equipped with computers to help youth access these opportunities.
Speaking at the same forum, Kenya Private Sector (Kepsa) chief executive Carole Kariuki, however, said there would have to be a behavioural change among Kenyan parents because they might not understand how people can work from home or at night as opposed to the conventional 8am to 6pm work time.
“Parents might be wondering what their children are doing not going out to look for work and staying at home, but they should understand that children can earn from their laptops,” she said.
She noted that such jobs give youth the job experience employers require because they will have built their portfolios especially if they started working while still in university.
She said the online platform should, however, not be a reason for employers to fire people or refuse to employ, but a way of enhancing efficiency.
“Look at it this way, you have an office that can sit 30 people, you have a job that requires 60, if you outsource it will be cheaper as you wont have to worry about their food, sitting space and other office necessities people require,” she said.
Starting point
Industrialist Manu Chandaria questioned where the starting point would be, and why the ministry was not, for instance, targeting youth in all the universities due to the manpower and skills available.
But Mr Mucheru responded that that they did not want to focus the initiative towards students as many may end up dropping out of school after seeing the money they earn.
“The rationale of completing school is to study more and further yourself. A challenge we see here is if students see a lot of money, there might be drop outs. We want students to complete their education,” he said. He added that the earnings would be subjected to a five per cent tax.
