Kenya is blessed to have some of the best-ranking universities in Africa, offering prestigious courses.
The same cannot be said of the graduate employment rates in Kenya. With the staggering unemployment rate, fresh graduates are quickly introduced to the murky world of tarmacking and hustling for a living.
Kenneth Kibichi has been lucky to have pursued a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science at the university. However, he has been tarmacking for over 5 years.
The 30-year-old was unfortunate to have lost his parents when he had just completed his KCPE exams. His father succumbed due to a stroke in 2009 and his mother followed a year later after he had joined high school.
Kibichi kept faith in education as ‘it is the key to success’ and completed his high school studies. He sat his KCSE exams at Kemeloi Boys High School and scored an A minus.
Having posted good results, Kibichi was quickly absorbed into Karatina University and he did exemplarily well, despite encountering major setbacks throughout his studies.
In his 4th year, Kibichi had to do a side hustle to buy food and pay for rent.
“I had to do a side hustle of traveling to Sagana to do paintings on Fridays and return on Mondays for classes to raise some money for rent and food,” he said.
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In 2017, Kenneth Kibichi graduated from Karatina University with a First-Class Honors Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science. With high expectations entering the job market, he quickly learned that everything was not blissful and the world of formal employment didn’t accept graduates with open arms.
“I wished to secure a job to help my siblings but unfortunately, I have been making several applications in vain,” he lamented.
Kibichi has knocked on the doors of several big firms, seeking to apply his Actuarial intellect at the Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Defence Forces, KenGen and the National Intelligence Service among others.
Five years after graduating, he is yet to get a job. He makes a living riding his Boda Boda in the village.
The only meaningful work experience Kibichi has received was joining Cohort 1 of the Public Service Commission PSIP Internship in 2019, but it did not last long.
Other than riding his Boda Boda for a living, Kibichi states that he looks for other means to fill his pockets sufficiently.
“For instance, I worked with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission during the last general elections as a presiding officer,” says the 30-year-old.
In the future, Kibichi hopes that he will be able to secure a job and pursue a master’s degree too. But for now, he cannot financially facilitate his studies. Where there is a will, there is a way.
