More than 100 jobless youth who turned up to the Kisii National Polytechnic armed with their academic papers on Monday, January 27, in hopes of getting employment got the shock of their lives when they found closed doors.
The recruitment drive that offers semi-skilled and menial jobs in the Middle East which is an initiative of Labour CS Alfred Mutua, left the youths, some of whom had travelled from as far as Nairobi, irate and confused after the unexpected turn of events.
The drive, which was advertised on social media by CS Mutua on November 18, 2024, had listed 52 vacancies aimed at recruiting gardeners, plumbers, electricians, teachers, and engineers among other positions.
“What do you mean? (there is no recruitment drive) You advertise the jobs online only for us to find nothing. Personally, I have come from far and spent money on fare. We are now stranded at the gate with nowhere to go,” one angry individual lamented.
“I have come from Homa Bay to come and do this interview. We came here early in the morning. We were so many that others left and went back home. We have waited for so long only to be told it (the recruitment drive) has been postponed and we don’t know till when. We have not seen any official from the government to give us any direction,” another angry youth decried.
On his part, CS Mutua said that the recruitment drive was put on hold in December 2024 through a notice sent out by the Ministry.
According to Mutua, the national recruitment drive was postponed in the six pilot counties that Kisii is a part of, to process initial recruitment and streamline the system.
However, the angry youth poked holes at the nature and timing of the postponement questioning whether the proper protocol was followed in communicating the new development.
“We have stayed here for too long. We tried to call but our phone calls are not going through. Finally, we were told that it (the recruitment drive) was postponed. We would like to know whether the right procedure was followed in the postponement,” an affected individual posited.
The nationwide recruitment drive is in line with the government’s plan to send one million Kenyan workers abroad every year as part of Kenya Kwanza’s labour export program.
The first-ever phase of the recruitment was marked by the Qatar initiative that resulted in 3,247 Kenyans selected out of the 8,000 available positions. Out of that figure, nearly 1,500 received their offer letters clearing their way for their travel.
Counties involved in the nationwide recruitment drive include Nairobi, Embu, Meru, Isiolo, Kajiado, Narok, Laikipia and Kisumu. In total, the recruitment drive will cover 31 out of the 47 counties in the country.
