By Andrew Walyauala
waliaulaandrew0@gmail.com
The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) has lamented over universities administering courses that are irrelevant to the current market demands as it discloses plans to develop a new qualification framework which will ensure the certification of skilled workers to match economic demand.
According to the KNQA Director-General Dr. Juma Mukhwana, most graduates are unemployed because they are listed as human resource in irrelevant careers.
“Kenyans have academic qualifications but they do not make sense because many are taking courses that the economy does not need now,” Mukhwana said.
He observed that offering irrelevant courses has created a scenario where there are jobs without people and people without jobs in the same economy.
He therefore urged universities and students to prioritize courses that the economy is looking for.
“We have so many students doing art courses such as business management and sociology, while the market is looking for graduates of ICT, Science and construction,” he added.
Using an example of the Blue Economy in the country, Mukhwana said that Kenya lacks individuals who can do underwater welding; as a result, shipping companies are forced to import skilled labor.
While reiterating on the certification, he said that 30 percent of all qualifications being used in the market, whether in government or private institutions are fake.
He observed that there are locals who can do engineering but the Chinese have dominated the construction industry in Kenya.
KNQA Director-General probed that the authority in conjunction with the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) are developing a brand qualifications framework, which will ensure skilled workers are certified.
“We are now establishing national database with universities, so that graduates are captured into the database for the employers to identify proper skills with genuine qualifications,” Mukhwana said.
