State's overseas jobs drive should be a last resort

Economists have many ways to measure the state of the economy. The most preferred measure is growth in the gross domestic product (GDP)—the total value of all goods and services produced in the country in a given year.

However, there are other less scientific measures that Kenyans can identify with. 

For instance, why not just ask people how they feel about the economy? Growth must be felt with more money in our pockets and greater optimism.

Entrepreneurs will cheer when their businesses expand through repeat customers or new ones. Employees smile if their purchasing power goes up with salary increases as firms expand.

It would be even better if more jobs were created and inflation were checked. Another measure of the economy’s health is the number of citizens seeking to leave the country.

Human beings are wired to seek solutions to their problems. If there are no jobs, or businesses are declining, we seek opportunities where they can be found—abroad.

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Developed countries have more stable economies and need employees because of their slow population growth. They, however, give out jobs that are low-skilled and leave the rest for their citizens.  

It is interesting that when discussing joblessness, we focus too much on the demand side—those willing to work and can’t get jobs.

Suppose we reduced the number of job seekers through smaller families? Compare the average family size in Kenya vs Germany or Japan. 

On the streets, in villages and hamlets, the talk of leaving the country is growing louder. Did you see how widely the US diversity lottery announcement was circulated? We had even forgotten it existed just like the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

The last time the wind of relocation abroad blew this fast was in the late 1990s when the American embassy was like a venue for a political rally.  

The latest wave of migration is unique, with the government an active player. It has been silent in the past.

It has focused on specific jobs, regions and countries such as the Middle East and Germany. What is surprising is the focus on low-level jobs like nannies and riders.

What of high-level jobs like medical doctors or engineers, some of whom are jobless? Are we wary of a brain drain? 

Most countries protect their professional jobs.  They require more training to practice in their country. Even shifting from one state or province to another may require recertification.  

The bigger question is whether we should expand job opportunities at home or export labour.  

Clearly, we have an excess labour force in all categories, skilled and semiskilled. In the short run, it makes economic sense to export labour.

But we must compete with other countries. The Philippines is known for nurses and India for computer scientists.

Kenyan nurses are also highly rated. What of other skills? What have we created a reputation for?  

The push for export labour is a clear reminder that we must prepare our students for the global market from primary school to university. We must give them globally marketable skills.  

We can learn from India after its independence with its highly rated institutes of technology. Google CEO Sundar Pichai got his Bachelor of Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-KGP).

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, on the other hand, earned a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella got his from the Manipal Institute of Technology.

Though all three got higher degrees in the US, their Indian education was an asset. Can we make our universities as good as IITs?  

Can we use the Indian route and export our high-level workers to Silicon Valley and later become the CEOs? Imagine if the three CEOs were Kenyans, perhaps Musyoki Mulwa, Kamau Njoroge or Onyango Oyoo?  

Is the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) globally oriented? India also focused on science and technology from the early days of the republic.

They even exported excess labour. My high school Maths, physics and chemistry teachers were Indians. Some were not born in Kenya. 

I have no problem with exporting labour but only as a stop-gap measure. The remittances are a big attraction, but Kenyans abroad contribute more to the host country through taxes and consumption. 

In the long term, we should create more jobs at home. Seeking jobs abroad should be an option, not a necessity. How can we do that?

One way would be to make our education world-class. We were almost there in the early days of our republic. Some Nobel laureates like Joseph Stiglitz and James Tobin once taught at the University of Nairobi. 

The best way for globally competitive graduates is to make the content relevant and contemporary; it does not matter if it’s 8-4-4 or CBC.  

Two, jobs are created when we use skills acquired in school to increase productivity, produce more with what we have or spawn innovations.

We can then produce quality goods and services for sale. Their production creates jobs. If we can reach the global market, more jobs are created. 

Lastly, we must create fewer job seekers, if you know what I mean.