The unemployment rate in Kenya is still high. President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the Big Four Agenda which he wants his administration to handle and hopefully achieve by 2022. It is part of his grand plan to leave a lasting legacy when he retires in 2022. One of the agenda is to improve manufacturing in order to create jobs. However, sometimes it is the job seekers themselves who spoil the great opportunities they have to get absorbed in companies.

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Here are some of the mistakes job seekers make.

1. Shunning graduate trainee programmes

Many companies offer graduate trainee programmes. This is because they are in need of specific skills. Most companies do not offer payments to trainees. Because of this, many job seekers are not signing up for graduate trainee programmes. This is a very big mistake. Graduate trainee programmes are meant to increase the employability of a graduate. You lose nothing by signing up for graduate trainee programmes. In fact, you gain a lot. Some companies end up offering permanent positions for trainees who perform well.

2. Avoiding internship

Many unemployed people, especially the youthful ones, always avoid internship programmes. They want quick money and argue signing up for internship programmes will only waste their time. That is what they think but they are very wrong. Most companies absorb interns at the end of the internship period. Our youths should be taught how to be patient. Putting money first is never the solution to unemployment. Some graduates even refuse to take “small salaries.” They want huge salaries. What they do not know is that by accepting the “small salary,” they are making themselves available for bigger salaries through promotions.

3. The issue of volunteering

Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) usually offer many opportunities for youths to volunteer their services. This is very common especially with organizations dealing with humanitarian crises like Red Cross, Save the Children, and Centre for Disease Control (CDC). Many jobless graduates avoid these opportunities. They want to work for pay, not work for free! This is a very grave mistake. Volunteering is one way of getting absorbed in a company/organization.