Youth urged to create jobs and embrace opportunities

As the country continues to grapple with unemployment, education stakeholders have called on young people to use the skills and knowledge acquired in higher education to create employment opportunities instead of relying solely on conventional white collar jobs. 

Speaking during a sendoff ceremony in Thika for 21 nursing students leaving for apprenticeship opportunities in Germany, MKU Council Chairman and Pro-Chancellor Dr. Vincent Gaitho said graduates who fail to secure jobs after completing their studies often become disappointed and start engaging in antisocial behaviour, urging them to seize available opportunities and use their skills to earn a living.

With thousands of students graduating from colleges and universities every year, Dr. Gaitho encouraged young people to take up available jobs without discrimination while also creating their own opportunities through the skills they have acquired.

He said the institution would continue seeking employment opportunities for its students globally, while urging both county and national governments to create more opportunities to ensure young people have avenues to earn a living.

Gaitho further urged the private sector to provide employment opportunities for young people and called on banks to develop special funds and financial packages to support youth enterprises and enable them to start small businesses.

His sentiments were echoed by MKU Vice Chancellor Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi, who urged students to remain open minded while pursuing higher education and engage in activities that can equip them with additional skills, improve their employment prospects and enable them to earn a living while still studying.

He noted that some students were already generating income through digital platforms and social media initiatives while pursuing their studies.

Speaking at the same event, Prof.Jaganyi said the 21 departing students comprise the university’s sixth cohort of nursing apprentices sent to Germany, bringing the cumulative total under the specialized deployment program to 105 nurses. He added that the institution would continue doing its best to help more young people secure opportunities overseas.

The VC explained that the exchange initiative addresses the critical shortfall of healthcare personnel across Europe and North America, where rapidly aging populations continue to fuel severe staff shortages.

Prof. Jaganyi added that international clinical exposure equips graduates with specialized expertise and advanced methodologies, creating a knowledge reservoir they can eventually reinvest into the Kenyan healthcare system.

He said the beneficiaries would travel to Germany before being deployed to various host hospitals to gain practical experience and enhance their professional capacity, urging them to consider creating their own healthcare facilities upon returning to Kenya instead of relying solely on government employment.

Some of the students who benefited from the apprenticeship opportunity led by Michael Mwangi and Hadijah Mwendwa, described the selection as a major career milestone, expressing confidence that their clinical experience in Germany would equip them with advanced skills to contribute to Kenya’s healthcare system.

They urged the government to work closely with institutions to create more awareness among students about available opportunities and expand such programmes to help address the employment challenge in the country.