Revealed! “It Takes 5 Years For Graduates To Get Employed”

By Jane Okoth

If you are a university graduate, or a student in the university, then brace yourself for tough times ahead.

An article in the Daily Nation reports that it takes a university graduate an average of five years to secure a job in Kenya according to a new study.

The situation is worsened by the fact that most of graduates in employment are not engaged in jobs which they are qualified for.

The paper reports that “About 50, 000 graduates graduate out of public and private universities in Kenya every year piling onto the number of unemployed youth in the country estimated at 2.3 million, according to the ministry of Education.”

Fridah Abuya, a Human Resource Consultant at Virtual HR agrees with the survey.

“Sadly it is true. Most companies when hiring individuals look for experience even if it is an internship position, something most graduates do not have,” she says.

“At least one year experience is important for every graduate even if you are being hired for a management trainee position because nowadays people get hired based on their experience.” she says.

“Most graduates are very choosy when looking for jobs. To them money is the most important reason why they are there that is why so many employers fear them. A graduate will disappoint you after 2 years or so because they always want to have greener pastures.

All graduates need to change their attitudes if they want to be employed. It is unfortunate that most graduates dream working in fancy offices, whirl around chairs and receive huge salaries. Most of them will dismiss casual or odd jobs because they think so highly of themselves,” she says.

She adds that, “That is the reason why most employers opt to recruit diploma holders than people who have degrees.”

On the issue whether discrimination does play a role in employment Fridah says “it does because most of the bosses are not graduates. The fact that you are a fresh graduate will definitely be a threat to them so they will not hire you.

With the number of universities spiraling are graduates hired based on their quality of education or the universities they attended?

She agrees that “It is rather sad that most employers judge your credibility based on the university that you attended. Some of them prefer public university graduates because of the reputation which is very untrue. This is a really unfair move because in my opinion as a human resource consultant I would look at the individual and judge them based on their performance.

I remember once recruiting an individual who had graduated from a public university. To my surprise she did not have the slightest knowledge of what labour laws are!” she exclaims.

Ms Abuya also reckons that it is still challenging for most graduates to venture into entrepreneurship. “You need a capital of over 300,000 shillings if you are keen on starting a serious business. Where will you get that capital from if you are still fresh from school?”she asks.

She concludes by saying that “the starting point is very important for every graduate. What you studied in the university is not what you will be doing in the future. It is important to look for experience no matter how hard your working conditions are”

What’s your take on this survey?

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