Why we should rethink future of jobs in Kenya

The nature of our skills, jobs and industries has been evolving.

The jobs that we need as we go through the fourth industrial revolution are different from those that first transformed manufacturing in 18th Century

But technology is not the only driver. New jobs can emerge from demographic shifts (such as an ageing population), shifts in consumer preferences, regulatory changes, and even a global pandemic like Covid-19.

While it is easy to retrospectively identify the dynamics of what leads to the emergence of new roles, predicting what the future workforce may look like can be a futile exercise.

Prof Kisilu Kitainge says Kenya’s diversity characterised by demographics change, shifts in consumer preferences, technology and dynamic creativity calls for a review on how we categorize occupations.

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Kitainge, who is also the CEO for Tvet Curriculum Development, Assessment and Certification Council (TVET CDACC)- the body mandated to undertake curricula design and assessment (With industry and for Industry relevant)-says Kenya’s unique Juacali sector must be embraced as part of “our industries as they produce most of the items we need”

In his conviction, Kitainge expressed such measures broadening employment while giving impetus to some ‘neglected occupations whom are a source of employment for most people in Kenya’ while diversifying taxable income for the economy.

“Opening up spaces to different people and recognizing occupations particularly in the Jua kali sector could tackle the challenge of standardization and develop a system that supports creativity and spurs improvement towards formalization of the sector,” he said in an interview.

He opined that, what has largely been referred to as ‘hustler work’ serves the needs of the people, an indication that people earn a living by providing solutions to our daily needs, and a proper system could make their occupations formal.

“If you ask a driver what they do, they will tell you that ‘I hustle around’. Yet all our matatus are on the road, the conductor will present themselves as jobless, yet they earn a living from their daily chores all year round” He implored.

The CEO said the council has already developed curricula for most of these occupations and are now receiving standard training.

 “We need to define what people do, we have MCs for our events who earn a decent living, DJs, artisans in the mining industry, fishing industry, pottery among others. We are developing curricula that caters for this people, and we now have RPL for those who have already learned the skills from their environment or inherited it,” he explained.

The emergence of new occupations is a gradual process that generally occurs over a few years.

While the identification and establishment of new occupations is a complex process and requires extensive consultation with employers, analysis of job postings data, analysis of current occupational data, and some subjective judgement, an important piece of the puzzle is looking at how the skills required to perform a specific occupation may be changing.

If the specific skills required to perform a role have changed or diversified significantly over a specific period of time, it is a pretty good indication that an occupation may be evolving.