Kenya has a high rate of graduate unemployment. There are several reasons for this. First, from the employers' perspective, it can be difficult to find good talent. There is a high risk to hire due to Kenyan labor laws. Employers often lack confidence and are nervous to hire, so it is difficult to find jobs without nepotism. Graduates typically have to know someone in order to get a job offer. Without practice and support, it's easy to make the same mistakes over and over again while trying to find a job. That's why Hatua graduates learn job search skills to assist in their career journey.
After onboarding a new employee, employers fear that investing in employee training will make employees more marketable and increase the chances that their employees will easily be recruited away. These factors provide hiring challenges, slow growth, and disincentivized employee investments. This lack of professional development on the job can make it difficult to navigate the challenges during your first year of employment. Many graduates require on-the-job mentorship to help establish communication between employee and employer.
Here are three ways we support students and graduates in building networks:
Through their mentor
Through Hatua's network, where we are constantly sourcing relationships with companies
Through Hatua Alumni, where successful alumni's employers are likely to recruit more Hatuan grads. Alumni also mentor other alumni on the job, and Hatua trains them to succeed in the workplace.
Giving back is a huge part of what we do at Hatua. We support Kenya's workforce through:
The Network Effect -- Hatua provides career advice and connections to others. In return, they inform us whenever there is a job opportunity.
Hatua Alumni -- Our alumni use their success to help others in an effective way. They give financially, donate their time, and help create opportunities for others.
Uplifting families -- Alumni educate their siblings, support their parents, and uplift their communities, breaking generational poverty cycles.
Hatua Network's community-centered approach helps us mobilize all stakeholders in our local economies. Because we partner with local communities to engage stakeholders, we make it possible for young people to access education and employment opportunities.
Hatua support doesn't stop at graduation. We also provide on the job follow up with the employee and employer to exchange feedback and support professional development.