President Ruto Mandates NYS Training for Kenyans Seeking Jobs Abroad

President Ruto has instructed all Kenyans seeking employment abroad to receive training at the National Youth Service (NYS) before leaving the country.

At the National Youth Service graduation ceremony on Friday, Ruto shared a fresh directive to facilitate job seekers' understanding of the nature and expectations of their overseas work. According to Ruto, the government is still in negotiations with countries including Saudi Arabia, Germany, and eight other nations to export labour. Therefore, NYS will spearhead Kenyans' training to pass the eligibility criteria for these job opportunities. Additionally, President Ruto has pledged to advance NYS resources and equipment with a share of the Ksh38 billion loan obtained from India.

"We will improve and modernize the equipment at NYS, and as part of this modernization, Ksh7.5 billion, which we discussed with Prime Minister Modi last week, will be allocated to NYS," Ruto stated.

Ruto said the allocated funds will support NYS in promoting agricultural activities across the nation, offering both theoretical learning and hands-on experience. To ensure the officers benefit from this initiative, Ruto instructed Public Service CS Moses Kuria to work together with Treasury counterpart Njunguna Ndung'u. Additionally, Ruto reached an agreement with the National Security Council (NSC) to ensure that 80 per cent of recruits for Kenya Defence Forces, Kenya Wildlife Services, and Kenya Police will come from NYS.

Additionally, the government aims to enlist 100,000 NYS officers annually for the next five years. To achieve this, the enrollment of Kenyan youths to the NYS will be doubled from 20,000 to 40,000, commencing next year, to match the absorption rate.