Is a degree your only hope of getting that dream job?

Nowadays, most employers require that prospective employees present a degree before they consider them for employment, which means that you have to perform well enough in your Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams to qualify to join university. The fact is, however, that not all qualify to join university.

There are also those that qualify but fail to get a job in their area of study after graduation. What options do such individuals have?

This week, we had a chat with four individuals who decided to study short-term courses rather than give in to the disillusionment that sets in following poor performance in school, lack of a job after graduation, and a failed business.

Naomi Kago

Professional baker, Elles Cakes and Bakes

I am passionate about cooking, so when I enrolled for a three months baking course in 2016, it was more of finding a way to keep myself busy than it was about making money.

Three years prior to this, I had left employment as a tour operator to try my hand at self-employment. Having graduated with a diploma in tour operations from a local college in 2000 and getting a job soon after, I felt the need to put into practice the skills and experience I had gained over the 10 years I had worked in the tours and travel industry, and what better way than to start my own tour company? I also reasoned that it would allow me to spend more time with my first child, who was two years old then.

When I established the company - Nature Objectives Tours and Safaris in 2013, I had a good number of clients, but as insecurity in the country rose and the number of travel advisories increased, the business took a nosedive. Besides being idle, I was also doing poorly financially.

It was then that the idea of starting to bake crossed my mind. Although I loved cooking, I hadn’t baked before, but I thought it would be an interesting way to keep myself occupied and also make some extra money as I waited for the tourism sector to stabilise.

In 2015, I started researching on baking schools in Kenya, courses offered, the time taken per course and cost. I settled on Valentines Cake House because besides being affordable, the courses are customised to suit one’s availability.

For instance, I was able to spread out the three months course to six months. The school also offers many courses to choose from. I chose basic and advanced baking skills, which cost me around Sh48, 000.

I started my classes early 2016 and graduated later that year. After graduation, I started getting orders from friends and relatives, and soon afterwards, I was baking for acquaintances and strangers. Within a short time, baking became my main hustle, while my tour business became my side hustle.

Last year, Elles Cakes and Bakes, a name I coined from my two children’s names, was formally registered as a company.

To be honest, taking up the short course turned out to be a good decision because I can now earn a very good living and still spend adequate time with my children. I still run my tour business - during low seasons I am not desperate because I still make money from my baking business.

I have an average of 15 clients every month, and I make a good profit margin. Starters in the baking business should be able to earn at least Sh20, 000 a month. Through baking, I have developed important values such as consistency and honesty. I believe that these are what have earned me loyal customers. Surprisingly, 70 per cent of my customers come through referrals and seeing my work on my various social media platforms. I use Facebook- Elles cakes and bakes, to market my cake business.

It has been a long journey getting here. When I started out, I didn’t even have an oven or electric mixer, I had to make do with what was available. Now I am a professional baker who owns all the essential tools of trade, such as a domestic cooker, electric mixers and baking trays.

What I have realised is that baking is constantly evolving, so I cannot afford to rely on the knowledge I got from my course, I am therefore constantly learning from other professional bakers’ works on social media, as well as watching YouTube tutorials for new ideas.

My advice to young graduates who are yet to get jobs is that they be willing to work with what they have as they work towards what they really want. They also have to be ready to step out of their comfort zones.

***

Alvin Wafula

Project Assistant Officer, Amref Health Africa

“I was fortunate to go to a good university for my undergraduate studies, United States International University – Africa, where I studied International relations, specifically Foreign Policy and Diplomacy. I graduated in 2014.

After graduation, I thought it would take me a short time to get a job, especially since I graduated with a good GPA from a reputable university. It was not to be. I started off as an intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a contract that came to an end after three months.

While there, the advice I got from my supervisors was to settle for any job that came my way because jobs were hard to come by in Kenya. I dismissed their advice – I was determined to get a job in my line of study - Foreign Policy and Diplomacy.

As my search went on, six months after my internship came to an end, I gave in and decided to be open-minded. I began to search for jobs outside my area of study.

I thought that it would be easy to get one because I kept seeing advertisements for openings in various areas outside my preferred choice. I applied for several jobs, but my applications were all rejected. It was three years after graduation, yet I still had no job.

Worried, I sought advice from different people. A friend advised me to study for a certificate course. I had been seeing job adverts to do with monitoring and evaluation, but I did not apply, since I had no idea what the area involved. When a friend persuaded me to give it a try, I did some basic research on it, and felt it would be worth a try. While searching for institutions that offered it as a certificate course, I came upon Kenya Institute of Management (KIM).

I settled for KIM because the nature of the program was accommodative of students who had never interacted with the course. It was also affordable.

The decision to do the three-month course proved to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. Almost immediately after commencing the course, I was fortunate to get some voluntary work in this area, although the job did not pay. It made a lot of sense for me to learn while getting practical knowledge as well.

Three months later, in January 2018, just before the defense of my M&E project, I was invited for an interview with Amref Health Africa.

The job revolved around M&E and Health development – a lot of M&E has to do with the health sector. I prepared adequately for the interview, and was overjoyed when I was offered the job because I hadn’t even completed my course.

I managed to defend and finish my course before the workload at Amref became intensive. It is now four months since I got this job, which I am really enjoying. I can now comfortably meet my basic needs and other living expenses, thanks to my certificate course.

***

Hezbon Odhiambo

Project Assistant, Red Cross

I did not do well in my Kenya Certificate of Secondary Exams. My father, a teacher, was disappointment because he had hoped that I would perform well and go on to support the family since I am their firstborn child.

My parents could not afford to enroll me in college, and so I stayed at home and helped with household chores such as cooking. After staying at home for close to one year, a friend told me about a “sales and marketing” job, which turned out to be hawking, selling stationery on the streets and from one office to another.

I would make just Sh200 in a week. It paid so poorly, my mother told me that it wasn’t worth it, and even offered to be paying me the Sh200 on a weekly basis to help out at home.

I quit the job and looked for one at a construction site, a job that paid Sh300 a day. I worked here for one year, but was really struggling to make ends meet. Although he was still yet to get over my poor performance in my KCSE exams, my father introduced me to a friend that worked for a multi-national company.

This friend recruited me to help him organise the company’s events, which included roadshows. While here, I learnt deejaying, and became a good master of ceremony. I was now earning better, but still, I wasn’t contented.

My big break came in 2006 when a friend told me about a volunteer’s position in the Kenya Red Cross. It was a remunerated position, which offered Sh300 daily. The job mainly involved loading and off-loading foodstuff that would then be transported to various parts of the country to feed needy Kenyans.

I immediately applied. I gave my all and went out of my way to do what was expected of me, that I got selected to lead a team of 10. In 2007, following the post-election violence, I was one of the best responders, and during one of our meetings that year, my team was named the best in the country.

Afterwards, I was posted to one of the Red Cross branches in Nairobi’s CBD, where I joined a program called Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Through this program, we responded to fires that erupted in informal settlements and took residents through fire safety measures.

I also did several short courses under this program, including fire safety, psychosocial support, water and sanitation, road safety, incident command system, disaster management, radio communication, assessment and contingency planning.

During this period, I was recommended to train for an Emergency medical technician’s job under Red Cross. I could not afford the required Sh80, 000, so I sought help from family and friends – thankfully, I managed to raise this amount and was able to complete the one year course.

This course is what got me a project driver’s job, a job that I held for four years after which I was promoted to logistics team leader, based on my past experience with the organisation. I would later enroll for a two weeks logistics course at Kenya Institute of Professional studies (KIPS), which earned me a promotion to the position of project assistant, earning a monthly income of more than Sh50, 000.

The short courses I studied have empowered me so much - I have ended up becoming one of the best trainers and response team leaders with Red Cross. I have even earned myself the nickname, “Rescue 1”. Currently, I am pursuing a community development course at KIPS College.

My advice to those reading this is that no matter how poorly you performed in secondary school, you can still build yourself an outstanding career step by step through short courses. All you need to do is to be innovative, hardworking and open-minded.

***

Edwin Joe

Photographer, Edwin Joe photography

I was introduced to photography by my father. He was a popular photographer back home in the village I grew up in, and during school holidays, I would accompany him to work, work being taking photos at weddings and burials.

Most of the time he was the official photographer, but sometimes, we would gate-crash the ceremonies, take photos and sell them to the guests.

When I completed secondary school in 2016, I toyed with the idea of becoming a photographer, but my parents had other plans for me.

They both wanted me to study a technical course - my mother especially insisted that I enroll for my dream course, engineering.

However, having not performed well in my KCSE exams, I knew that it would be too expensive for them to send me to school to study a course like engineering because I would have to start at certificate level to qualify to study for a degree. I didn’t want to put them under financial pressure, and so I insisted on studying photography.

I started by following the work of professional photographers on social media. I discovered that there is more to photography than just taking random photos. I also discovered that through photography, I could even travel the world.

Drawing inspiration from them, I began to practice how to take photographs using my dad’s camera. I would invite friends for free photo shoots and then share the photos on my social media platforms, especially Facebook.

I also spent lots of time checking out YouTube tutorials and researching about professional photography. I would then try to achieve what I learnt using my dad’s camera. I also began to advise him on what equipment he needed to advance his skills in photography. The student was becoming the teacher.

Seeing my determination and commitment towards professional photography, he introduced me to David Macharia, founder of Versatile Photography, who became my mentor.

David offered me a training opportunity in his studio in September 2017. It is here that I realised I still had lots to learn before I joined the league of professional photographers I admired so much.

I enrolled for a three-months course in the Versatile School of Photography where I must say that I attained immeasurable skills in photography.

I can now confidently say that I am a professional photographer, I make a living out of photography, earning an average of Sh50, 000 a month.

I am glad that I pursued the short course instead of committing myself to years of studying for a course that I was not interested in just to please my parents and my friends. The only challenge that I now face is the fact that I am very young. I am 21, and so some question my ability to deliver.

When they do, I refer them to my website, edwinjoephotography.co.ke, where they can view some of my work.

I have discovered my passion, and I right now, I am focused on growing it. In the near future, I intend to invest in videography.