An initial batch of 46 graduates from the National Youth Service (NYS) at the weekend left for Saudi Arabia, where they have secured jobs.
This marks the inaugural group of 273 graduates from the institution who are set depart for the same destination for work this month.
Labour and Skills Development Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime led the graduate's departure ceremony attended by acting NYS Director General Ndambiri Nyagah, and excited relatives.
The successful event was a result of a newborn partnership between the Ministry of Labour and Private Recruitment Agencies in sourcing employment opportunities in the diaspora for Kenyan youth.
According to Virginia Murigu, CEO of Satma Agencies, the company that linked the graduates with their potential employers, the 46 will take up roles as caregivers, administrative assistants and jobs in the hospitality industry within Saudi Arabia.
In his remarks, Mwadime said the country will now be focusing on NYS to provide labour for export due to its high quality of training.
"We want to establish Kenya as an international brand and source of highly disciplined labour for export by tapping graduates from NYS," he said.
"With a fairly young population, Kenya is well poised to provide labour to the Middle East, European and other destinations experiencing shortage challenges in their labour market," he added.
He challenged the migrants to use the opportunity to learn new technologies and transfer them back home upon their return, “for the benefit of the country's development.”
The PS also revealed that the State Department was working in conjunction with the Investment Authority of Kenya to develop a legal framework to safeguard remittances from migrant workers.
"The remittances you will send back to the country is an important investment and source of revenue that will play a critical role in the economic development of the country and should therefore be safeguarded" underscored the PS.
Last year, President William Ruto announced that NYS would be an anchor institution for trainees destined for the international labour market.
“We have also agreed that NYS and we are already concluding negotiations with Germany, Saudi Arabia and ex other eight countries on the export of labour and the NYS will be the central organization for pre-deployment training so that Kenyans will understand what they need to do as labour exported from Kenya,” he said.
