The Ministry of Labour on Thursday announced a raft of reforms in the recruitment and deployment process for Kenyans seeking employment abroad.
In a statement, Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua clarified that the new amendments were critical for streamlining the recruitment and deployment of jobless Kenyans.
While making the announcement, CS Mutua stated that Kenyans seeking to register their agencies for one year would be required to pay a fee of ksh500,000.
Meanwhile, the renewal period for existing agencies would extended to two years with organisations required to pay Ksh500,000 for the full two-year period or Ksh250,000 for one year.
Kenyans Queue for jobs in Kisii town
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PSC
The CS further announced changes in the pre-departure training and orientation programs. According to Mutua, homecare management training would be integrated with pre-departure training to reduce the training period from 26 days to 14 days.
“For other migrant workers, pre-departure training will now be reduced to 2 days, making the process more efficient,” Mutua stated.
“The assessment system for these programs will be evaluated on a 100-point scale, with 65 per cent for practicals by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), 25 per cent for continuous assessment, and 10 per cent for pre-departure theory, with a pass mark of 60 per cent,” he added.
CS Mutua further revealed that domestic workers who had previously completed their contracts in the Gulf countries would be exempted from the training requirements.
According to the former Machakos governor, the reforms would aid in facilitating the deployment of between 5,000 to 10,000 Kenyans to work abroad each week.
The CS,i while reiterating the reforms, also put on notice rogue recruitment agencies citing that an investigation had commenced into the menace.
“These reforms are the result of extensive consultations with key stakeholders, both locally and internationally,” CS Mutua stated.
“They are designed to enhance the efficiency and integrity of our labour migration system.”
Labour CS Nominee Alfred Mutua appearing in Parliament.
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Alfred Mutua
