Don’t travel for overseas jobs without work permit, warns PS

Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime has warned Kenyans against recruitment agents exploiting job seekers through fraudulent overseas employment schemes.

Speaking at Uhuru Na Kazi Building in Mombasa, Mwadime said gaps in the recruitment process, coupled with misinformation, continue to expose many Kenyans to fraud.

He singled out claims that visitor visas can be converted into work permits after travel as false and dangerous.

“The work permit is issued here in Kenya before you travel abroad. Those who are cheating you that you can travel on a tourist visa and then have it converted when you get there are the ones engaged in human trafficking. And that is the reason why the rights of Kenyans are being trampled upon abroad,” Mwadime said.

He explained that all legitimate overseas job opportunities must be advertised on the National Employment Authority website.

The PS said private recruitment agencies are required to obtain attestation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Kenya’s high commissioners and ambassadors in destination countries before advertising any vacancies.

He added that labour attachés deployed abroad work with diplomatic missions to verify job offers directly with foreign employers.

Once cleared, recruitment agencies upload the job orders to the NEA website.

After job offers are issued, the Ministry of Labour conducts a second attestation to confirm that wages match the worker’s skills, are sufficient for living abroad, and that working conditions comply with International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions.

“We have been very clear that for you to know that a job is genuine, it has to be uploaded on the National Employment Authority website,” Mwadime said.

He added, “We have been emphatic that our labour attachés must follow you to the correct geographical location where you are working and must share their contacts so that whenever you have a wanting situation confronting you, you can get in touch with the labour attaché or our Foreign Affairs officers so that they can attend to your need immediately."

The PS said continuous vetting has reduced the number of licensed private recruitment agencies from about 1,200 to 600.

He said agencies that breach regulations are deregistered and listed in red on the NEA website, while compliant firms appear in black.

Mwadime said the government has intensified efforts to empower workers in Kenya’s informal sector through the Recognition of Prior Learning programme, an initiative aimed at certifying skills acquired outside formal education systems.

He said the programme targets artisans and youth who have practical, hands-on experience but lack academic certification.

“We want every young person out there to gain from the programmes we have introduced. If you have skills and experience and are already engaged in a certain business, whether as a mechanic, mason, beautician or in any other trade, we want to certify those skills.”

The RPL programme seeks to recognise, assess and formally certify competencies gained through informal or non-formal training.

Successful candidates are issued with government-recognised certificates, improving their employability both locally and internationally, including opportunities in labour markets such as Europe and Canada.

Implementation of the programme is being carried out through the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) in collaboration with the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA).

Skills being assessed include masonry, electrical installation, plumbing, motor vehicle mechanics, beauty therapy and computer repair, among others.

Mwadime revealed that interest in the programme has been overwhelming.

When the government initially advertised the RPL component under the NYOTA programme, more than 40,000 applications were received.

Following a presidential directive to extend the application window by an additional one to two months, a further 20,000 applications were submitted.

“In total, we are talking about nearly 68,000 applicants,” he said

Currently, the programme aims to certify 20,000 artisans, supported through a partnership with the World Bank.

However, Mwadime emphasised that certification will continue beyond the lifespan of the current project, as RPL falls under NITA’s core mandate.