Airline jobs lure hundreds to city
A section of the large crowd of hopeful youth who turned up for recruitment by Qatar Airways wait to hand in their certificates and application letters at Hotel Intercontinental in Nairobi on April 20, 2014. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |
What you need to know:
- The youth jammed City Hall Way and Parliament Road as they awaited their turn
- The airline had advertised cabin crew vacancies with a tax-free remuneration package including accommodation, allowances and transportation to work
Hundreds of youth on Sunday turned up for a job recruitment drive by Qatar Airlines.
The recruitment, which attracted hopeful youth from all over the country, disrupted normal operations at the Hotel Intercontinental, forcing security officers to chase the job-seekers away from the main gates.
The youth jammed City Hall Way and Parliament Road as they awaited their turn.
“I arrived here from Kaunei around 5:30 in the morning from Makueni and I was able to present my papers by 9am. I had applied online and was invited to appear before the panel,” said Terry Ann Mutinda.
The interviewing panel was forced to place boxes outside the main hotel entrances for the youths to drop in their applications.
“We did not expect such a big turnout. We have advised them to drop their applications outside because the numbers are overwhelming,” said one of the officers who didn’t want his name mentioned.
HOPE FOR THE BEST
The airline had advertised cabin crew vacancies with a tax-free remuneration package including accommodation, allowances and transportation to work.
“I don’t know if the panel will be able to go through all those applications but we hope for the best,” said Millicent Omollo a university student from Kisumu.
Some of them who spoke to Daily Nation said the situation was sufficient proof that unemployment was a big problem.
“I gave up dropping my application after finding a long queue on arrival,” said Mohammed Abdi.
Meanwhile, National Association of Youth Enterprises secretary-general Eric Mungai on Sunday refuted a report by the Devolution Ministry claiming that Sh1.5 billion has been used to establish business projects for the youth in the country. He alleged this was a ploy to squander the funds.
