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BrighterMonday to connect 10,000 youths to agri-food sector jobs
BrighterMonday Kenya, in partnership with the German Development Cooperation under the GIZ Agri-jobs 4 Youth initiative, has launched the “Vijana na Kilimo”, a project aimed at laying the ground for both organizations to shape more strategies to empower the youth and enhance employability.
The project is targeted to upskill western Kenyan youth (18-35yrs) and connect 10,000 to 10,000 to job opportunities in the agri-food sector.
A recent skills gap survey by BrighterMonday Kenya revealed that the agri-food industry lacks the cutting-edge technical skills needed to expand at scale. With a noticeable dearth of technically savvy on-farm skills like animal production and farm management and off-farm opportunities in sales and enterprise, entrepreneurs in the agri-food business would benefit from bespoke capacity-building programs.
The partnership has over 6,500 youth signed up so far to build their capacities and access agricultural job opportunities, thereby bridging the widening gaps between farms and the agric ecosystem. 500 internships have also been committed and 39 youths have already been placed as interns.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Cooperatives, the agriculture sector is a source of income for 18 million Kenyans, making up about 64%of the country’s workforce and employing an estimated 70% of the rural population. Despite this, there are still many unemployed people in the country.
Research by the World Bank revealed youth account for approximately 35.4% of the Kenyan population and 60% of the total labour force, with an estimated 1.2 million youths entering the workforce every year. Creating job opportunities in the largest employing sector for new job market entrants is one way to address unemployment using a value chain approach.
BrighterMonday was founded in 2006 and has since evolved into Kenya’s largest recruiting and HR services platform. Over 800,000 jobseekers and 36,000 businesses are currently utilising the site to find the perfect opportunity.
