Reserach reveals university degree holders can take five years to get a job

Lucy Nga’ng’a is a Kenyatta University civil engineering graduate. She graduated in 2015, but now runs an M-Pesa shop in Nairobi’s Umoja estate.

“There’s no such thing as looking for a job out here anymore just because you have a degree. You won’t find any. I sent out over 60 applications within the first year of my graduation. None came back positive. So, I started trying to fend for myself through other ways, and that’s how I’m now here.”

Lucy’s story resonates with many degree holders in Kenya, many of whom have tarmacked for years without landing a job.

A professor at the University of Nairobi’s civil engineering department – who did not want to be named – says: “Kenyan youth need to realise that out there in the real world, their degrees and certificates will only contribute 10 per cent to their pockets. The other 90 per cent will come from their willingness to put down those envelopes, roll up their sleeves and stick their hands in the mud. Be innovative, jobs will never be a guarantee.”

A research carried out by World Bank in 2016 shows that about 800,000 youth – majority having graduated from the numerous universities and colleges in Kenya – enter the Kenyan job market annually. Out of this, only 70,000 succeed in securing employment.

According to a UK-funded study titled Universities, Employability and Inclusive Development, it takes an average of five years for a university graduate to get a job in Kenya today. The survey, done in 2014, focused mainly on Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.