Internships boon for youth - Daily Nation

The announcement of some 3,000 internships in the civil service may be a drop in the ocean in the face of the acute youth unemployment in the country today, but it’s welcome news in a generally gloomy situation. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, seven million Kenyans, or 70 per cent of the country’s youth, are jobless. It’s a depressing scenario, especially in the urban centres, but also in most of the rural areas, where hordes of youthful able-bodied citizens who could contribute to national development cannot find gainful employment. Seeing groups of healthy young people idling at shopping centres all day is a damning characteristic of the country.

Of course, it will be heartbreak at the end of the interviews for the majority of the shortlisted 8,000. However, we have no doubt that the Public Service Commission will ensure fairness during the recruitment. Every Kenyan deserves an equal opportunity to take advantage of such vacancies. And coming at a time when the gender question has increasingly become a serious subject of debate, the PSC must ensure that both men and women benefit.

The government has allocated Sh1 billion to roll out the internship programme, which is expected to ease the employment crisis in the civil service with some 60,000 workers scheduled to retire in 2020. Quite commendable is the publicity to alert all those eligible to try their luck.

We wish this civil service gesture could be emulated by the other government agencies and organisations and also the private sector. Getting internships for young graduates has, in recent years, become a tall order. The period assigned often ends before some of the young people can get opportunities to experience the world of work and begin honing their skills for the job market.