The International Labour Organization (ILO), with funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, is organizing the 1st Garissa Job Fair & Exhibition 2025 under the Rural Employment Service (RES) Project. This event is in collaboration with the National Employment Authority (NEA), Career Guidance Institute (CGI), and the County Government of Garissa among others.
Labour markets are complex systems where people look for jobs and employers look for workers. For optimal interaction between these two facets, assistance is required through various mechanisms and interventions. When delivered effectively, these services play a crucial role in facilitating income generation for workers, bolstering the overall economy, and fostering business growth or sustainability for employers.
This job fair is being organized in the context of youth unemployment in Kenya, which is as high as 35% (4.5 million young men and women), compared to the overall national unemployment rate of 10%. This issue is even more severe among women, who are disproportionately represented. Garissa County has a total working-age population of 443,437, which is about 52.71% of the total county population. Most of the working-age population is youthful (18-34 years) at 54.59% (Assessing Labour Productivity for Garissa County, KIPPRA Policy Brief, No. 38/2023-2024).
According to the 3rd Garissa County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, this youthful population experiences a high unemployment rate largely due to low levels of literacy, low uptake of vocational skills, inadequate career guidance targeting youth, mismatch between skills and demands, low uptake of existing economic empowerment programmes like youth enterprise development funds, negative mindset on technical skills, and a shrinking labour market. All these factors negatively impact their entry into the labour market.
The organizing committee therefore calls upon local businesses, Jua Kali, educational institutions, NGOs, government agencies, technology companies, and the agriculture sector, among others, to join us in this event to showcase opportunities in the county.
For more information, please call Abdi Bulle on 0725 657621, Daniel Kakuti 0734 197912 or Margaret Waithaka 0722 791351 and they will gladly assist you.
