Train young people to work in Europe, African countries urged

African nations have been urged to provide more training opportunities to young people to enable them work in Europe.

The African Regional Labour Administration said labour migration is currently the main foreign exchange earner for most African countries.

ARLAC chairperson July Moyo said the organisation had conducted over 300 training sessions because their major goal is to train labour administrators in government and the private sector. He spoke in Mombasa.

ARLAC was started in Nairobi in 1974 and later moved to Zimbabwe in 1986.

It works in collaboration with the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation to offer labour administration training for people in government, labour movement and business.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore said since labour migration is a major foreign earner bold initiatives need to be put in place to enhance worker skills.

She called upon ALARC to put more effort into labour migration training.

Bore said the efforts of African countries should be directed towards ending poverty, reducing inequalities in income and opportunity, promoting job creation and addressing youth employment.

“This is the direction we wish this organisation would take to promote our economies through training and development of our human capital to spur productivity. This noble organisation requires to be revamped and re-engineered to fit its purpose and be in the global arena to advance decent work and economic development of the member countries," the CS said.

Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime said the government is currently exporting skilled labour.

He said opportunities available in western European countries are  in sectors like information technology that require people who are highly skilled.

This is why the government is committed to training young people to ensure that they are well skilled, the PS said.

“The issue of capacity building is critical for our labour. As government we are training skilled labourers, and not unskilled, because the opportunities that are available in western European countries require people who are highly skilled in their areas of specialisation," he said.

Kenya received from the diaspora remittances amounting to nearly Sh663 billion, he said.

Mwadime said remittances have already surpassed traditional foreign exchange earners like coffee, tea and tourism.

He said Mombasa is a tourist destination and the government has put a lot of emphasis on developing the city's infrastructure.

Young people training in hospitality institutions like Utalii College will access jobs in European countries, the PS said.

He said Kenyans who have undertaken hospitality courses are well recognised abroad for their performance and that is why the government is investing in exporting labour.