UoN Office of Career Services (OCS)

MbeleNaBiz Business Competition

With support from the World Bank ,  the Government of Kenya through the Kenya Youth Employment Opportunities Program has initiated a Business Plan Competition for youth to present their Winning Business Plan for funding.

Over 750 youth will be granted with a sum of cash not less than of Kshs 900,000 and not exceeding Kshs 3.6 million to start their businesses as well as be trained for business from Dec 2019 to Feb 2020.

The competition is scheduled to commence on 24th  of June 2019 and end on 2nd  of September 2019 and KPMG Advisory Services has been contracted to oversee the competition.

The UoN Office of Career Services urges every UoN student to participate in this career-shaping opportunity.

For more information, please visit MbeleNaBiz Business Competition website http://mbelenabiz.go.ke/

To apply online click here

DIGITAL MARKETING SKILLS TRAINED LAUNCHED AT THE UoN SKILLS CENTRE

The UoN Office of Career Services will roll out the Google Digital Marketing Skills Program at UoN on 15th July, 2019. The program is aimed at training youth and job seekers digital skills to prepare them for the job market.

Google Digital skills for Africa are designed to help improve employability and business growth. The trainings are offered in-person and online in English, French and Portuguese with highly tailored content for job seekers and Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs).

The training will focus on youth, job seekers and SMBs to impart in them relevant digital skills for the job market. It will help help SMBs to grow their career or business at their own pace, with flexible and personalised training courses designed to build confidence and help entrepreneurs thrive.

This basic Digital Marketing Skills training will be carried out in partnership with Google and eMobilis at the University of Nairobi.

#TrainedButWithoutJobs #skillsforthefuture

LIF4 Case Study - Kenya - Kenneth Guantai - Motorised battery-powered electrical handcart

Kenneth Guantai (LIF4) – Motorised battery-powered electrical handcart

A battery-powered electrical handcart for small-scale farmers, hospital, airports, and industry

What is the innovation?

 Kenneth (a UoN Alumni) and his company Auto-Truck E.A. have developed a battery-powered electric handcart with a trans-axle DC motor and controller system. The device is more efficient than traditional manual handcarts used by small-scale farmers, hospitals, airports, and industrial users. It will also help to reduce back and muscular injuries caused by the use of these manual hand carts.

Achievements since LIF:

First sales. Kenneth and his team have secured first sales of the hand cart, selling 10 products to test the market before launching the device at full scale. Kenneth and his team have received positive feedback from these customers, and they have made between the US $10,000 and the US $50,000 in revenue from these sales.

New funding. Kenneth has secured a US $50,000 government grant to develop his innovation.

New appointment. In November 2018, Kenneth received an appointment from the office of the President of the Republic of Kenya as Head of Innovation, Technology and Enterprise Development at the National Youth Service. This new appointment will help him gain government support for his LIF innovation.

New partnerships. With the support of his LIF coach, Kenneth has been speaking with three potential supply chain manufacturers in Europe for his motorized handcart. Kenneth has also signed a legal agreement a major vehicle manufacturer in Kenya to create an effective production line for Auto-Truck E.A.’s products, which will lower their mass production costs. Kenneth has also secured an agreement with a major government engineering company for local component production for the products.

Received awards. Kenneth and his team won the Transformative Urban Mobility project funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Kenneth is also on 2019 shortlist for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.

Impact of LIF:

International recognition. “[LIF] has made my company appear on the world map … the experience acquired has greatly helped our company develop local and international support hence making us more popular and visible. Based on that traction, our company has attracted a lot of attention both from our intended customers and investors.”

Personal development. “LIF has made me develop very strong business skills that I believe will be the key to drive my company to prosper … [LIF] also built my confidence enough to initiate high ranking partnerships with established companies like KVM. It also allowed me to convince high ranking government officials for favorable business policies with a successful debate in Parliament where my products were earmarked for tax waiver and issuance of an assemblers certificate.”

 

Gurpreet Singh Sehmi- Consultant, SuM4All Sectretariat

Gurpreet Singh Sehmi- UoN Alumni now Consultant, SuM4All Sectretariat

Having graduated from the University of Nairobi (UoN) in December 2017, I was recommended by the School of Economics as a candidate for the World Bank internship that is a part of the partnership between UoN and the World Bank that aims to build capacity for young African graduates with an aim of promoting sustainable development and poverty reduction in African countries.

After a rigorous selection process, I was selected to come to Washington DC, USA in September 2018 as a research consultant for the World Bank’s Global Transport Practice to work with the Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All) initiative. Hosted by the World Bank, SuM4All is a global partnership platform of over 50 leading actors in the transport and mobility space with a shared vision to transform the future of mobility across all modes of transport.

My experience so far has been revolutionary. I have been able to look at transport through a different lens that made me realize the inadequacies of the global mobility system in terms of universal access, efficiency, safety and environmental footprint across all modes of transport. Much of my work is channeled towards research and advocating mobility solutions for the said inadequacies of the system- with a focus on Africa.

Some of the publications that I have contributed to thus far are: this article on how three countries have adopted three different approaches to achieving green mobility, this review of international agreements, conventions and other instruments to achieve sustainable mobility and the soon-to-be launched Global Roadmap of Action toward sustainable mobility (GRA).

Gurpreet Singh Sehmi- Consultant, SuM4All Sectretariat

 

OCSLogo

Office of Career Services

Office of Career Services

The UoN Office of Career Services (OCS) is a new establishment obligated to develop essential competencies among graduates that will produce the appropriate human capital for industrialization of the region-the skills that will enable society to innovate and foster the type of rapid technological progress that characterizes industrial revolution.

 

#1. Vision

To produce holistic graduates who are prepared for entry into the workforce and to take up entrepreneurship activities

#2. Mission

To develop graduates’ skills, competencies and attitude to enhance their employability and entrepreneurship capacity. The goal is to produce skilled, empowered, competitive, employable, enterprising and innovative graduates ready for the job and entrepreneurship market.

#3. Strategic Objectives

  • To operationalize the Office of Career Services;
  • To create industry linkages for students to obtain job and internship opportunities;
  • To producing holistic graduates who are prepared for the job market and entrepreneurial activities;
  • To offer skills development to students to make them employable;
  • To mentor students and offer career advice.

 

  1. Services
  • Skills and Training Programs;
  • Career Counseling Services;
  • Self-Assessment;
  • Employment Opportunities;
  • Scholarships, Internship & Mentorship;
  • Employer/Alumni Engagement and Outreach;
  • Career Fairs & Exhibitions;
  • Global Internship Opportunities;
  • The linkage between industries and students; and
  • Mentorship and Alumni networking

.

Career Partners: these are companies, institutions or organizations interested in partnering with the University of Nairobi in advancing students’ skills, welfare jobs, and internship opportunities.

 

Career Advisors: these are individuals, professionals or alumni who are passionate about skilling, mentoring and coaching students or fresh graduates of the University of Nairobi in order to enhance their employability and entrepreneurship capacity.

 

Student Career Ambassadors: these are students of the University of Nairobi who are officials of student professional association bodies and are passionate about mentoring high school students and enhancing the UoN corporate brand.

 

Student Career Passport – University of Nairobi job diplomacy tool

 

Career Information Management System – tool for linking graduates with potential employers

 

 

PRE-DEPARTURE INDUCTION FOR AICAT COHORT 3 STUDENTS

 

Following the Jerusalem Declaration, an MoU signed between President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and H.E. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel signed on 23rd February 2016, The University of Nairobi among other Agricultural, Water and Irrigation Training related institutions annually send their top students to the Arava International Centre for Agricultural Training (AICAT) to study and acquire technical hand on skills.

On 3rd of July 2019, Mr. Johnson Kinyua, Director, Career Services and Naomi Nyaboga, Chief Information Officer, Office of Career Services offered a Pre-Departure Induction presentation for 3 hours to the 19 students that were successfully selected for the AICAT 2019/2020 program. The induction program aimed at imparting the students with the basic must-knows of Israel and how to live and work in Israel.

Nineteen students from CAVs have received an eleven months scholarship for the Arava International Center for Agriculture Training (AICAT) program in Israel from August 1, 2019. AICAT is a professional and successful agricultural program based on “Learning by Doing”. The program is intended for undergraduate students studying agricultural courses mostly in Asia and Africa. Students are attached to farms in the Arava region where they are exposed to high technologies and advanced agriculture.

The Office of Career Services wishes the students traveling to the Arava a safe journey and a nice stay as they acquire more knowledge in mechanized agriculture. It is hoped that when the students come back home they will become agripreneurs and create jobs for others.

ENABLING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT (EYE) DASHBOARD FOR AFRICA

The African Development Bank (AfDB) places the plight of the youth at the center of its approach to promoting Economic Development in Africa. The AfDB believes that investing in youth is an important aspect of the promotion of inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Africa.

AfDB held an expert consultation meeting on developing of the Enabling Youth Employment (EYE) Dashboard for Africa on Tuesday, July 2, 2019, at their offices. The University of Nairobi was represented by Johnson Kinyua, Director, Career Services and Naomi Nyaboga, Chief Information Officer.

The EYE dashboard provides a comprehensive view of the state of youth employment in African Countries and highlights the gaps, barriers, and enablers of youth participation in economic activities. The tool also encourages countries to step up efforts on labor market data and provides policymakers and researchers with a rich source of information to appreciate the nexus between youth empowerment and economic development.

It is estimated that more than half of African Youth are unemployed or underemployed and this brings about high rates of poverty. There is also an increase in university graduates becoming unemployed due to a lack of relevant skills for the ever-evolving job market. There is, therefore, need to match skills relevant to the job market. The AfDB ‘Enable Youth Project’ is helping to address job creation and employable skills.

The Office of Career Services is at the forefront of partnering with AfDB to develop Africa’s next generation of a digitally-enabled workforce. This is a dream that the OCS Office shares with the African Development Bank, Microsoft, Rockefeller Foundation and Google. This is being achieved through “The Jobs for Youth Africa (JfYA) Coding for Employment flagship program” aimed at developing and launching Africa’s next generation of digitally enabled youthful workforce that has been rolled out at UoN. AfDB will also support the creation of a Centre of Excellence at UoN to create a digitally-enabled workforce.

Career Path Testimony

When I was 9 my father would say “Go to school finish, go to the University and get employed” to him then, getting to the university was the ultimate requirement for getting employed. 11 years down the line, I do my research and find out from a local newspaper that it takes more than just a degree to beat unemployment since thousands of graduates are out and busy “tarmacking”.

I feel betrayed realizing that my choice of a degree course has a rare chance of employment and that it probably adds no value to the job market. I find myself considering dropping out and just settling for whatever the harsh job market has to offer. However, this consideration is way too costly to bear because of the tens of thousands of hard-earned money my family and village had to raise through “Harambee” in order to bake me for a successful future.

The only thing I have do is to sit down and see if my already acquired knowledge can offer a solution.
I turn on my laptop and browse through a few articles on unemployment. All I see is numbers, statistics of unemployed fellow victims of the system and huge blame on the 8-4-4 system.

The 8-4-4 system of education is portrayed to be the unfavorable chief contributor to this situation of having graduates who are unable to secure jobs because it focuses on academic grades at the expense of molding an all rounded individual being a major pointer. I clearly understand that we recently abandoned it to a new one, 2-6-3-3-3, but that’s going to save the coming generation but what happens to the thousands who are still out and those are finalizing the system.

In August 2018, the Government launched the Office of Career Services (OCS) in all Universities and Tertiary Institutions for developing essential competencies among graduates that will produce the appropriate human capital for industrialization of the region-the skills that will enable society to innovate and foster the type of rapid technological progress that characterizes industrial revolution.

Partnering with this office will for sure give an upward push towards earning as an individual who has been learning
for the better part of their life.

Baraka Isaac

Intern

Office of Career Services

Coding for Employment Program launched at UoN by the Office of Career Services

Developing Africa’s next generation of a digitally-enabled workforce is the dream that the Office of Career Services shares with the African Development Bank, Microsoft, Rockerfeller Foundation and Google. This is being achieved through “The Jobs for Youth Africa (JfYA) Coding for Employment flagship program” aimed at developing and launching Africa’s next generation of digitally enabled youthful workforce.

The Office of Career Services launched the Training of Trainers for the Coding for Employment program on Monday, July 1 and the training runs till Friday, July 5, 2019. The program will: 1) equip 130 centers of excellence with ICT infrastructure, 2) train young people in demand driven ICT skills and entrepreneurship and 3) provide graduates with linkages to the ICT ecosystem for internships and job opportunities. Specifically, each center of excellence is expected to train at least 1,800 young people which will contribute to the wider program objective of training 234,000 youth and creating 9 million jobs over the next decade. Five (5) countries have been identified to pilot the program namely Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire. In each country, a maximum of five innovation centers of excellence will be hosted in partner institutions.

Through demand-driven training, the program will equip youth across the continent with the skills needed to secure ICT, ICT-enabled and ICT services employment. The program will provide both technical, and entrepreneurship skills that are transferable across sectors. The beneficiaries of this program will be youth aged between 15 and 35 years who are currently unemployed or underemployed with particular consideration given to vulnerable and disadvantaged youth. The program will strategically position them to compete for the jobs of the “present” and the “future”. Beyond skills development, the program seeks to drive the creation of an “innovation ecosystem” where key stakeholders (private sectors, youth, and government) in the sector can adopt a sustainable, integrated and holistic approach focused on promoting the innovative use of digital tools to solve social problems in Africa. As such the program will support the development of 130 innovation centers of excellence which will provide a platform to host best practices, private sector linkages and support training programs.

The Office of Career Services is focusing on developing the digital skills of its students to enable them competitively secure an employment opportunity or become their own bosses.

Winding up of Student Life And Finding a Job

Most university students have a special place that they enjoy being at when they are within the campus or during their stay in school. A place that makes them comfortable and for a minute helps them forget about the world and the amount of work they have and even deadlines that have to be met.

Now just try and picture the absolute horror when students come to the realization that their safe havens are crushing in on them. A life that they have loved, cherished and gotten good chunks of is being flattened. They now have to transition to employment or entrepreneurship and they are terrified not knowing where to start.

I know what you are probably thinking now, “but I don’t want to leave campus!” or “no one will hire me!” Try as you might however, there is no escaping this one. It’s time to accept that you are done with your Diploma, Masters or Undergraduate degree and you must transition from learning to earning to practice what you have learned in university.

Some students have it clear in their minds what career path they would like to follow but a good number of students come to the end of their university lives without even the slightest idea of what career path to follow.

At the University of Nairobi Office of Career Services, we offer advice on all the possible career paths that a student could undertake, students are also mentored by alumni and career partners in the various fields that they might want to pursue after they are done with their courses. The Office of Career Services also helps to link students to the job market on completion of their courses and also to obtain internships and attachments.