Government Spokesman, Colonel (Rtd.) Cyrus Oguna, has called on Kenyan youth to embrace online jobs to supplement their income during COVID-19.
Oguna said though millions of employees lost their livelihoods globally following the hard economic realities occasioned by the pandemic, opportunities for online workers improved significantly in areas of transcription, digital marketing, virtual assistance, data entry and management, as well as online writing.
Addressing hundreds of youths at the low income settlements of Bondeni in Nakuru, Oguna said the Government has eased access to digital opportunities in the Country through the Ajira digital Programme.
At the same time, Oguna who was accompanied by County Commissioner, Erastus Mbui, expressed concern that over 3 million Huduma Namba Cards that are uncollected at various registration centers and government offices countrywide.
He revealed that so far 9.6 million Huduma Namba Cards had been issued and delivered to their respective destinations out of which 6.4 million had been collected by their bearers.
Oguna indicated other state sponsored youth empowerment initiatives such as Uwezo Fund and Kenya Youth Employment Opportunities Program (KYEOP), were still on track.
The Ajira initiative seeks to impart skills on the youth, to help them secure online work such as software development and transcription services, in a rapidly evolving global gig economy.
The programme involves hiring mentors to offer training and providing free internet connectivity and work spaces, through the Constituency Innovation Hubs, largely funded by National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF).
“1.2 million Kenyan youth are currently making a living out of online jobs. As the world struggles with social-economic challenges brought by Covid-19 pandemic, online workers have not been affected because their workspace is safe to conduct business and deliver services,” he added,
Subsequently, its high time Kenyan youth who constitute 75 per cent of the population embraced technological changes and innovations to promote remote working as alternative employment.
“We aim to equip more Kenyan Youth with skills that will enable them, to earn from digital and digitally-enabled jobs. We are delighted to formalize and fully operationalize yet another Ajira digital club to train, mentor and link youth to various online jobs and enable them to earn decent wages,” Oguna said.
The Nakuru County Commissioner, Erastus Mbui, challenged the youth to exploit opportunities offered by agribusiness and Small and Medium Enterprises, as a way of creating employment and generating income.
Mbui urged the youth to enroll in polytechnics and Technical Vocational Education Training Institutes so as to acquire skills that can be sourced by local and foreign investors.
He further indicated that farming should not be viewed as a venture for retirees as there was unexploited potential, running into billions of shillings in the poultry, dairy and beef subsectors.
Mbui said the Ajira initiative was of critical importance to Kenya’s quest to create many jobs for youths, especially from universities and TVETS.
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