Hundreds of job seekers await clearance and interviews at KICC, Nairobi.
Thousands of young men and women showed up for government-advertised interviews for jobs in the Middle East yesterday.
A Qatari company, Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said, was in Nairobi conducting interviews for various jobs.
It was an open call and all one needed was a curriculum vitae, passport-size photo and passport.
In waves, they arrived for the interviews, dressed in crisp black and white. It was an army of hopes pinned to polished shoes and neatly pressed collars.
Under the warm Nairobi sun, they stood in queues that snaked around Kenyatta International Covent ion Centre (KICC).
Some stood still, others shuffled a bit, their feet gently tapping the concrete.
The scent of resumes and the murmur of ambition hung in the air. Every face had a flicker of hope, eyes cast towards distant shores.
A young woman clutching her folder with determined hands here; a young man straightening his tie with a whispered prayer there.
Though the queues twisted and turned, the thousands of Kenyans dis not leave or look back.
They waited with the patience of those who had little to lose and everything to gain.
Job seekers fill out their credentials at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre(KICC) on October 25, 2024, during a mass recruitment drive for various job opportunities in Qatari companies.
From jobs in hospitality to construction, the government said it had negotiated 8,000 vacancies in the wealthy Gulf state.
“Qatar has never accepted nurses or doctors from Kenya, but it has now agreed to do so. The country also requires real estate, accountancy, ICT and other professionals from Kenya,” Dr Mutua said.
“There are 8,000 jobs. We expect to get at least 3,000 people to go overseas for work.”
Mr Joseph Kamore, who has been to the Middle East as a worker, came from Nakuru for the interview.
He couldn’t hide his frustration as the queues got longer and longer and doubted if the interviews would be fair.
Mr Kamore told the Saturday Nation that he suspected they had been set up for disappointment.
By noon, Kamore said, only five out of the 30 hopefuls he was with had been accepted for the job he wanted. He expressed worry that cronyism was at play.
Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Labour and Social Protection Alfred Mutua interacts with job seekers at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre(KICC) following a mass recruitment drive for various jobs in Qatari companies.
“The economy in Kenya is tough and life in the Gulf is better,” he said.
He had simple advice for those who make it through – stay focused, be loyal to the contract and make the most of the opportunity ahead.
Mr Brian Ruto took a bus from Nandi County to Nairobi, with only one dream.
“Things will work out today. I am sure of getting the job,” Mr Ruto said.
He was still waiting for his interview for a driving job by 2pm.
President Ruto and his government have been in an overdrive hunting for jobs for Kenyans in Europe, the Far East and the Gulf, touting it as a move to reduce poverty.
In 2016 and 2017, some 173,016 university graduates were thrown into an already shrinking job market, according to the Commission of University Education.
In the subsequent years, hundreds of thousands of graduates left universities and colleges for the slimming employment arena.
Dr Mutua said the number of people seeking jobs has been growing faster than the country’s economy for last 15 years. He added that the government is doing all it can to secure overseas jobs for Kenyans.
“As stopgap measure, we have to keep our people employed. That is how Singapore did it. That is how the Philippines has done it. That is how the Indians are doing it,” he said.
“Job migration is an opportunity. They can go abroad for two or three years, get more skills and return home.”
Dr Mutua is on record saying the government would facilitate the recruitment and deployment of 5,000 to 10,000 Kenyans overseas every week.
President Ruto recently said 250,000 jobs were up for grabs in Germany. The German government later denied the reports.
The zeal to send Kenyans to work abroad has faced criticism.
“The government has been shouting about securing jobs for Kenyans abroad. Is there more to this scheme than meets the eye?” Mr James Kahongeh, a tweep, posted on social media.
“Can a government that can’t create jobs locally guarantee them in the diaspora?”
The Guardian reported that more than 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar in the last decade.
The findings, it said, were compiled from government sources. The study showed that an average of 12 migrant workers died every week since December 2010 when the streets of Doha were filled with crowds celebrating Qatar’s victory to host the World Cup in 2022.
“The toll is significantly higher as these figures do not include deaths from some countries that send large numbers of workers to Qatar, including the Philippines and Kenya. Deaths that occurred in the final months of 2020 are also not included,” the paper said.
