The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection on Wednesday authorised Private recruiting Agencies (PRAs) to conduct pre-departure training for Kenyans heading to work in Gulf countries.
In a statement, the ministry revealed that the new directive is aimed at making it easier for Kenyans to secure employment abroad. This means that the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) will no longer be the sole authority mandated to offer the training.
This announcement was made by Shadrack Mwadime, the Principal Secretary for Labour and Skills Development, during a meeting with representatives from Private Recruiting Agencies (PRAs) at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) buildings.
Additionally, the PS instructed that there be a review of the NITA curriculum to ensure that the organisation's standards be at par with expectations.
Further, the government directed that NITA branches with high failure rates be sanctioned.
“PS Mwadime also issued directives regarding the review of the NITA curriculum, the performance of the most recent cohort (Cohort 34), and the imposition of sanctions on NITA branches with high failure rates,” read the Ministry’s statement.
Additionally, to easily enforce the directives, the government pushed for the formation of an umbrella body for all recruiting agencies.
The umbrella body will be required to coordinate all private recruitment agencies, promote closer collaboration with the government and reduce external influences.
However, despite this arrangement between the government and PRAs, Foreign Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on Wednesday revealed alarming statistics on fatalities recorded on Kenyans working in Gulf countries.
Speaking to Senators, Mudavadi revealed 316 Kenyans have passed away in the Gulf countries since 2002.
Saudi Arabia led the list of countries with most fatalities at 166 deaths, followed by Qatar 58, United Arab Emirates (UAE) 51, Iraq 25, Bahrain 10 and Kuwait 6.
Oman and Iran recorded zero deaths.
Meanwhile, government records show that 416,548 Kenyans work in Gulf countries with more than 300,000 stationed in Saudi Arabia.
