Equipping children with practical skills is no longer optional. It is a core requirement for survival and success in the modern world. Every generation thrives based on what the economy and society demand at that time. Our parents accessed jobs largely because they could read and write English. In previous generations, academic excellence opened doors, and for many years, a university degree almost guaranteed employment.
That model has collapsed.
Today’s economy no longer rewards certificates alone. It rewards the ability to deliver value.
The shift from education to execution
The modern job market prioritizes one thing above all else: execution. You cannot offer a job to a child simply because they can read and write. More importantly, you cannot guarantee employment to a graduate simply because they hold a degree.
This explains a growing contradiction in society. Village youth, mama fua, boda boda riders, and casual workers are often well educated. Many hold diplomas, degrees, and even master’s qualifications. Education is no longer scarce. Practical, applied skills are.
Why more degrees no longer guarantee career growth
In many workplaces, employees continue pursuing higher education with the expectation that an additional degree will automatically lead to promotion or better pay. In reality, this rarely happens. Employers are not struggling to find educated people. They are struggling to find people who can think independently, solve problems, collaborate effectively, and execute without constant supervision.
Simple practical skills that can move you from joblessness to millionaire
The result is a workforce filled with highly educated individuals who still cannot deliver. Some come from privileged backgrounds, good schools, international systems, and reputable universities, yet they must be closely monitored. They wait for instructions, complete assigned tasks, then stop instead of anticipating what comes next.
This is not a lack of intelligence. It is a failure in skill development and responsibility building from an early age.
The role of extracurricular activities in skill development
One major contributor to this gap is the neglect of extracurricular activities. Children who did not participate in sports, clubs, music, debate, or similar activities—and who also struggled academically—often face the greatest challenges in adulthood.
Extracurricular activities build confidence, discipline, resilience, teamwork, and real-world skills that classrooms alone cannot provide. Sports, in particular, are powerful teachers. Children who played football or rugby grow up accustomed to pressure, correction, fouling, substitution, and competition. They learn resilience early and normalize failure and recovery.
Later in life, such individuals complain less, handle pressure better, and collaborate more effectively. Sports teach teamwork by force. You cannot win alone on a field.
The cost of raising children without responsibility
In contrast, children who lack both academic discipline and extracurricular exposure often struggle with teamwork and accountability. They complain more, gossip more, avoid responsibility, and struggle to complete tasks. This is not a personality flaw. It is a training gap.
Sensei Institute founder who started college after encounter with staff lacking practical skills
The same issue extends into the home. Many children grow up in households where responsibility is fully outsourced to parents, helpers, or systems. Tasks are done for them instead of being assigned. Decisions are made for them instead of being taught how to decide. Over time, this produces adults who are academically qualified but practically dependent.
This problem is growing alarmingly in Kenya. We now see adults sitting at home, fully supported by parents, lacking skills, initiative, and confidence to create their own paths. They passed exams, but they were never prepared for life.
How early responsibility builds capable adults
My own experience illustrates the opposite approach. I grew up in a family of eight, surrounded by extended relatives. From an early age, responsibilities were assigned and not optional. By the age of ten, I could handle the same duties as my 18-year-old sibling. That environment enforced discipline, accountability, and organization early in life.
Those early responsibilities shaped my ability to manage myself, run businesses, and lead people. At barely 20 years old, while still in college, I ran a small vegetable business and paid my own fees, rent, and personal expenses—not because my parents could not help, but because I had the capacity to do so.
That capacity did not appear by accident. It was built through responsibility, exposure, and trust at an early age.
Short courses, big opportunities: Skills you need to thrive in new job market
Why well-rounded schools perform better
The same pattern is evident in schools. Institutions that perform well academically are often the same ones that excel in sports, debate, music, and other extracurricular activities. This is not a coincidence. These environments build discipline, resilience, leadership, and teamwork alongside academic achievement.
They produce well-rounded individuals who can function beyond exams.
Raising capable, not just qualified, children
We live in a world where applied skills matter more than accumulated certificates. Academic knowledge is important, but it is incomplete on its own. Skills such as problem-solving, communication, teamwork, initiative, and accountability are what turn knowledge into value.
Parents must intentionally pass skills at home. Assign children responsibilities. Allow them to make decisions. Hold them accountable. Place real responsibility on their shoulders while still pushing academic excellence.
At the end of the day, no one enjoys dealing with irresponsible adults who cannot take care of themselves or who rush to sell off family assets to survive.
If we want a functional society, we must stop raising excellent exam passers and start raising capable, resilient, and responsible human beings.
