Proper Mentorship will Reduce Kenya’s High Youth Unemployment Rate

According to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, a total of 18.9 million Kenyans are unemployed. Out of this, 5.3 million youths, constituting 39% of the age group between 18 and 34 years are unemployed. These numbers may now be increased by the current Covid-19 pandemic that has wiped away many jobs.

One of the surest ways to reduce these high numbers of our unemployed young Kenyans is to offer them the right mentorship that will help them either get gainful employment or join meaningful entrepreneurship. Indeed, this is the right time for corporates and professionals in the Country who have the right capacity to join hands and help participate in this noble cause.

“This is why through Optiven Foundation, we have launched the George Wachiuri School of Mentorship – an innovative program that will take up a cohort of 500 Youths every 6 Months and that will greatly enhance youth skills, employability and entrepreneurship acumen in Kenya,” says George Wachiuri, Optiven Group CEO.

This program will be offered for free to the participating young Kenyans. Specifically, the program is designed for young Kenyans who have undertaken sales and marketing studies either as a certificate, diploma or degree and aims at empowering over 3, 000 youths within a period of three years.

The chief facilitator of the program, George Wachiuri, is rated among the best in the field of sales & marketing and with a solid experience that spans over 20 years coupled with a successful captaincy of a leading real estate firm, is eager to impart all his accumulated knowledge, skill and wisdom to the Kenyan youth who will participate in this program.

Besides online sessions, that have been designed with the current pandemic in mind, participants will be exposed to practical sessions of up to 3 hours per week, where the mentees will be exposed to Optiven processes plus a chance to be trained by seasoned Optiven sales and marketing professionals.

After a period of 6 months, the best performers in this new program, which will officially commence on the 1st of August 2020, will get a chance to directly join Optiven Group as full time employees.

In the year 2019, Optiven abandoned the traditional approach of absorbing local graduates into industrial attachment program and adopted a 360 degree mentorship approach that has so far benefited over 200 youths, with some of them being absorbed into the leading real estate firm.

This new program is an advancement of this previous initiative and seeks to transform the targeted demography of Kenyans, who hold so much hope for a country that is focused on becoming newly-industrialized middle income economy by the year 2030.