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The high rate of under employment in Kenya has resulted into deliberate efforts by respective actors to create opportunities for potential citizens to increase country’s productivity both in public and private sectors.
President Uhuru Kenyatta last year during the State of the Nation Address stated that the government the Economic Stimulus Package will create 100,000 jobs for the youth.
“The major objective of the Economic Stimulus Programme was to return the economy to the growth trajectory by increasing demand for local goods and services, cushioning vulnerable Kenyans, securing household food security for the poor, and creating employment,” he said.
While the Unemployment Rate in Kenya decreased to 7.2 percent in the third quarter of 2020 from 10.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020 according to: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), it remains a tall order prompting even the government parastatals to have inter-ministerial negotiations, parastatals, public service and the national Treasury to absorb talents to enable fulfillment of their respective mandates.
In that respect, Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) ongoing process of recruiting more officers to increase the capacity of its technical manpower is geared to effective service delivery to the country.
The Bureau’s commitment as demonstrated by the Board inclines to fulfilling the regulator’s mandate which include standardisation in industry and trade through standards development, conformity assessment, testing and metrology. These noble services aim at providing standards-based solutions that delivers quality and confidence to the consumers both within and outside Kenya.
The effort of absorbing more officers in a two-year phased recruitment purposes to replace employees who exited the service willingly, natural attrition or resignation since 2019 to date. As a result, the Bureau’s quest for engaging new talents attracted 19,038 applicants.
Among the senior officers the regulator is geared to employ range from Managers in Audit Department, Financial Accounting, Business Development and Projects, Human Resource & Administration as well as Planning & Corporate Performance. From an initial 311 positions presented to the Bureau’s Board an initial 109 candidates were approved for employment in the ongoing 2021/22 financial year.
The 19000 included one manager, PVoC who was alone, one Principal Office Administrator, a position which attracted 259 applicants, 5 office administrators out of 2713, one Customer Care Assistant out of 1239 and I registered nurse from the 215 who applied. The bureau also appointed 2 economists out of 1467, 61 technical officers from the 9267 who applied and 36 Technicians/Artisans out of 3794.
The shortlisting committee included Dr. Geoffrey Munira as the chairperson, Ms. Miriaam Boit, Dr. Abdikarim Abdow, Mr. John Kirimi, Mr. Michael Oganga and Mr Joshua Wasigala as members
According to Dr. Joseph Kinyua, Head of Public Service, a conditional approval of 106 potential employees was necessary as this was heavily guided by the national budget.