Nicholas Mbalanga, a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) degree holder has no regrets as he has turned to making art, specifically drawing and painting, as the key source of his livelihood.
Unlike majority of university graduates who shun menial jobs and only look for white-collar jobs, Mbalanga, 30, says he is ready to do any kind of work apart from robbery so long as it generates income for him.
Mbalanga confided to Education News that when he joined the university he had high hopes of landing a decent job but getting one became a mirage, especially in the country where the culture of “kitu kidogo” (bribery) has ended up blocking a big number of eligible youth from getting employment.
“Getting a job has become a big headache to me and others despite performing well in the university. Worse still I have attended several interviews without success, but I have not lost hope as I believe that my chance will soon come,” he said.
Mbalanga said that six years down the line, he has been actively engaging in artwork, a profession he confirms has enabled him to earn good money hence improving his livelihood despite being jobless.
“I have managed to get scores of clients who come to have their potraits done,” he said.
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He urged fellow unemployed graduates across the country not to choose jobs saying that white collar jobs were very few compared to the huge number of graduates churned out every year.
The artist also said that joining TVET colleges could be a solution to the high unemployment rate in the country where students are able to specialize in a technical course and capitalize on it.
Mbalanga attended a local public primary school known as Bubamba between 2000 and 2009 where he finally sat for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam and managed to garner 278 marks which enabled him to join John Osogo Boys High school in Bunyala West ward between 2010 and 2013 and managed to pass his KCSE with a B plain.
The grade enabled him to join the University of Eldoret in September 2014 for a four-year degree course in Natural Resource Management, graduating with a Second Class Upper Division in 2018.
By Gilbert Ochieng’
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