There is no doubt that Kenya has the best human resource capital in the region if not in the continent altogether. It is now almost certain that thousands of graduates will be churned out of our public and private Universities in any one week. However, the best jobs in Kenya are not being filled by Kenyans and this should be cause for alarm or human resource professionals and experts.
It appears that the country has no doubt very good brains that could help solve the myriad of problems bedeviling the economic, political and social spheres of our lives. However, many bright youngsters would rather take up job offers abroad than in the country.
The first reason of course has to be the salary issue. Many jobs offer such low salaries that workers have to keep on moonlighting in order to sustain their livelihoods. This seriously curtails their productivity in the workplace and leads to an overall poor performance.
Secondly, it is very hard to secure a job using a fairly straight means. This means that the best brains are put off as they would have to bribe there way up the corporate ladder. They would also need to come from the same tribe if not family of the owners of the company and this seriously impedes their professionalism.
The other problem is that the working conditions and the opportunities for professional and career progression are simply aren't there. Many people think that our best and brightest choose to take overseas jobs mainly for money but this is not true. Provide the best working conditions, and you would see these brains trooping back. I'm reminded of a Kenyan engineering graduate who came back with a couple of firsts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and on getting a job at a parastatal, he was given golf tickets to a country club by his boss who explained that the tickets would help him more than staying at the office. Well, he packed up his bags, returned to Chicago as Vice President of a multinational engineering company where he earns astronomical salary. Do you think he will ever return home again?
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