The partnership was ratified and announced on Monday 19th September 2022 at the Ministry of ICT offices in Nairobi, Kenya marking the start of the World Bank-funded initiative that aims to drive socio-economic development for the youth. Announcing the partnership, BrighterMonday Kenya noted that the program will lay the ground for both organizations to shape more strategies for the youth to get empowered and be viable for employability. The project will offer opportunities to the Kenyan youth, drawn from 17 counties across the country who will get access to different employers across diverse work disciplines. The announcement comes at a time when the unemployment rate in the country is on the increase with World Bank data showing that 5.7 percent of Kenya’s labour force was out of work in 2021, up from 2.8 percent in 2013. The initiative is timely to improve youth employability in the target counties and improve the livelihoods of young Kenyans. Through the Project, BrighterMonday Kenya will aim to provide,Employer engagement and identification of opportunities that are relevant to the youth’s areas of training while responding to industry and market needs,Internship and apprenticeship placement for the targeted youth,Job placement of the youth after successful completion of their internships. National Project Co-ordinator at KYEOP Augustine Mayabi noted” We are happy to witness the unveiling of a great initiative that will enable the youth in these 17 counties to get access to training and employment opportunities. We have noticed that after training these youth with various training institutions, we lose track of some and we now want to bring them back on board to offer internships and employment opportunities as they are fully equipped. This is such a great step towards curbing unemployment because so many youths lack the necessary skills to help them land opportunities. We value such impactful and life-changing initiatives” BrighterMonday’s CEO Brian Ntambirweki, further stated, “We remain keen on supporting the youth and enabling them to get access to jobs in Kenya, and by collaborating with the Ministry of ICT under KYEOP, which is working on different initiatives, we are confident that we are heading towards the right direction in solving labour market challenges in Kenya. BrighterMonday also noted that Africa’s population is young and youthful hence creating the urgent need to tap into that energetic resources and upskill them for better employment, terming the project timely and what Kenya needs. “As part of our renewed mandate, we are now going beyond offering jobs and digging deeper into talent development through learning and upskilling to ensure that Africans and Kenyans are better equipped to participate in labor markets with strong and relevant transferable skills. We are committed to investing in talent and at the same time partnering with other entities and organizations of like mind who are tackling these challenges at scale.” To tackle unemployment, organizations keep devising strategies to deal with the problem. For most, partnerships are becoming key as they implement the projects holistically. Public-private partnerships are now taking over the scene from different sectors to address different societal challenges. For BrighterMonday Kenya, Partnerships have become a key pillar under its new mandate and renewed operations, such that the brand is partnering with like-minded organizations to help curb unemployment while solving the African labour market challenges.
