Jacob Kaimenyi: Give students better career guidance

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has asked the management of schools to strengthen the capacity of teachers involved in career guidance in order to enable them offer better career advice to students.

Prof Kaimenyi said this would involve arranging for such teachers to attend career workshops to increase their knowledge and skills in career management.

Prof Kaimenyi also asked schools to hold regular career conferences and talks to inform their students.

He advised schools to organise visits to industries and places of employment to enable students have a taste of working life.

The CS underscored the need to prepare students adequately by giving them vocational and career guidelines to help them match their acquired knowledge, skills, talents, and competences with the available opportunities in the job market.

“We need to equip them with up-to-date information on various dynamics of the modern world of work and the type of professional and training skills required for the career options available to them,” said Prof Kaimenyi.

He observed that it was common to see people venturing into jobs that have no relationship with their professional training, personal interests, skills, abilities or even values.

“If such people fail to re-orient themselves effectively with their job demands, frustration set in and this leads to low productivity. This is the scenario that the government would like students to avoid as they venture into the job market after completing their college courses.

“We don’t want to see Form Four leavers who qualify to join university for further education rushing to alter their degree choices every year during placements, after realising that they made the wrong choices.”

Prof Kaimenyi made the remarks in a speech read on his behalf by Bernard Mbao, a deputy secretary in the Education Ministry, during a stakeholders roundtable session for the introduction of Careerpedia at Alliance Francaise, Nairobi.

The encyclopaedia contains 120 careers, each with comprehensive information on training requirements, job description, career progression, interview discussions and professional associations.

Prof Kaimenyi said the information would definitely be relevant during the revision of the Careers Guide Book for Schools, developed by the Ministry in 2009.

Jacqueline Onyango, a Senior Assistant Director at Kenya Institute of Education, said the review of the curriculum would incorporate life skills in order to enable students to develop all round.

However, Ms Onyango said not all issues could be captured in the curriculum that is under review.

She observed that many schools have ignored co-curriculum activities, only focusing on academic issues to the detriment of the students.

“We have to change our attitude and mindset about sports. We know where the problem is and we will address it,” said Ms Onyango.