EDITORIAL: Move to export qualified workers welcome step

Ideas & Debate

EDITORIAL: Move to export qualified workers welcome step

Sunday, December 15, 2019 22:00

By EDITORIAL

Reports that the government is going to seek employment opportunities for its citizens in the Middle East during next year’s World Expo in Dubai are welcome.

As the country contends with a bulging youth population and rising unemployment, any initiative aimed at addressing these hurdles is a step in the right direction.

According to the Trade ministry, the government is targeting the placement of education and health officers in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states.

This would be a massive step from the current trend where the country exports thousands of its citizens to fill menial positions like labourers and domestic workers.

The government says that other than exporting labour to the Gulf States with a focus on education it will also seek to increase tourism and attract investors in the oil and gas sectors.

A significant number of these workers are normally under the radar of the Kenyan government hence the many woes that are normally reported when they run afoul of the respective host governments’ laws or are entangled in payment disputes with errant employers.

According to the Economic Survey 2019, the country had 175, 681 registered health workers with nurses being the majority at 80,673.

The government deserves to be commended for setting out to tackle the unemployment problem that has serious ramifications for the economy.

The number of teachers in public secondary schools and teacher training colleges was 97,647 as at the end of last year while there were 215, 363 primary school teachers.

While there is a shortage of teachers in the country’s schools, a large number of qualified teachers cannot be employed due to shortage of funds. Thus the move to focus on exporting qualified labour would help ease the unemployment problem in the country.

We urge the government to source for other positons in other countries. The country cannot afford to have educated citizens staying idle due to lack of opportunities. The country’s economic development greatly relies on a working population.