The Ministry of Information has launched an initiative to train young people on online job opportunities and provide them with a digital platform where they can find freelance work.
Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru said during a breakfast debate on Wednesday that the initiative aims to make Kenya the “freelance capital” of the world.
He said Kenya is unique in that it has a large number of unemployed skilled workers, and multinational companies are taking advantage of this and are now outsourcing jobs to Kenyans.
However, he said many Kenyans are not taking advantage of the opportunity or are not even aware of the fact that they can work and earn money online from the comfort of their computers.
According to him, there are currently about 40,000 registered online workers working in the country.
Ajira is an online platform where job seekers register for training in a one-week process before starting to search for jobs online depending on their specialty or area of interest.
Mucheru said there were 1.3 million online jobs available for Kenyans to search for, and those who took up such jobs earned up to Sh50,000 or more a month.
“We want to become the freelancing capital of the world. This is possible because we have a large pool of skilled young people ready to work, but the challenges facing Kenya are: There are no jobs available for them, but online platforms have the potential to employ them all,” the CS said.
“And you also need to understand that we’re not offering jobs, we’re creating a platform with all the resources where you can get trained, get certified, and find jobs online. “There is,” he said.
“The ministry intends to take the lead in raising awareness and creating an enabling environment about the changes taking place in the world and the opportunities that exist online, providing connectivity (internet and electricity) and providing training,” he said. Stated.
Mucheru said Kenya plans to build four innovation hubs in each constituency with proper connectivity and computers to help young people access these opportunities.
However, at the same forum, Kenya Private Sector (Kepsa) chief executive Carol Kariuki said it would require behavioral changes from Kenyan parents. This is because people may not understand how they can work from home or at night, as opposed to traditional practices. Working hours are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“Parents may wonder what their children are doing at home instead of going out looking for work, but they should understand that their children can earn money with their laptops,” she says. .
He pointed out that these jobs give young people the work experience that employers are looking for, as they are building a portfolio, especially if they start working while still in university.
However, she said online platforms should not be a reason for employers to fire or refuse to hire employees, but instead should be a means of increasing efficiency.
“Look at it this way: You have an office that seats 30 people, and a job that requires 60 people. Outsourcing is cheaper because you don’t have to worry about food, sitting space, and other office necessities. ‘,’ she said.
Businessman Manu Chandaria questioned where the starting point would be and why, for example, the ministry was not targeting all university youth because of the available talent and technology.
However, Mucheru replied that he did not want to focus the initiative on the students because many of them would drop out of school after seeing the money they earned.
“The reason people leave school is to study more and advance themselves further. The challenge we see here is that if students get a lot of money, the potential for dropouts “We want our students to complete their education,” he said.
He added that the profits will be subject to a 5% tax.
