During graduations, graduates outline dreams and an appetite to up eat the world, believing they can have everything.
Then they are punched in the face by the unemployment and underemployment crisis, a reality faced by Kenya’s over 50,000 graduates annually. The crisis can be put into perspective by taking the example of a law graduate who has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law, in addition to a Kenya School of Law Diploma, unable to find a job in their field, working instead in a low-skilled position just to get by.
This scenario has been described by some in Kenya as the overqualified, underemployed youth phenomenon. Youth unemployment and underemployment remains daunting. In 2012, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated youth unemployment in Middle East and Africa as being at 28.3 per cent, with an expectation that it would top 30 per cent by 2018.
Further, in 2014 more than 73 million people between the ages of 15 and 24 were searching for employment. The figure of over 70 million does not include groups such as discouraged workers who have given up on the job hunt.
The trouble with youth unemployment is that the young tend to be on the brink of either being hired or fired. From a business perspective, employers attribute unemployment to a skills mismatch.
This concern raises another question; what happened to on-the-job training?
In a world where the aim is cost-cutting, it should be remembered that many employers regard themselves as consumers of education and training yet the education system should not be viewed as responsible for mass-producing work-ready employees.
Employers, it must never be forgotten, have a responsibility in educating employees. Labour market rigidities give the perception that younger and inexperienced staff have riskier profiles in the work environment.
The rigidity comes from the disparity between workers on permanent contracts with full benefits—often older workers—and the youth, under temporary contracts.
The social impact is delayed adulthood, lack of financial freedom and the emergence of a boomerang generation, where many move back home and must survive with support from parents, who are themselves in debt, having taken out loans to educate their children.
Equally vexing is increase in crime and radicalised youth who are hard-hit with short-term or unstable work which translates into irregular, informal employment, with low pay and few opportunities for training or career progression.
It is evident that shrinking opportunities for useful and dignified employment, combined with a reduction in social security, are causing an alarming rise in inequality and poverty in Kenya. What we need is economic growth to make inroads into unemployment, if we are to give the youth a reason and strength to get out of bed every single day.
