Degrees in Kenya have in the past been branded as the only way you can get a job. In turn, lots of Kenyan learners resort to endlessly toil just to acquire it.
As this year’s edition of Hands on the Future Kenya Skills Show launched on February 8, the main aim of the event was to give youth an opportunity to showcase their skills to probable employers.
It has been established that graduates in Kenya land approximately 30% of jobs while the rest acquire their jobs thanks to their skills and talents. It is easier to maintain a job doing what you love and what you are good at rather than force yourself to do a job you do not enjoy doing.
Some skills come naturally while others are acquired through a short course or training. Some take as little time as a week while others take up to a year depending on your natural gifts.
As Kenya is working to create employments for more youth and attain the vision 2030, we took a look at some of the skills that can get you employed without necessarily getting a degree.
1. Maintenance and Repairs
Fixing things is a skill that can get you employment or even self employment depending on how good you master it. Everyone has something that require repair and while some prefer to buy new things rather than repair the worn out ones, others simply can’t afford to buy new stuff so they don’t have much of an option.
Repairing and Maintenance can get you money depending on what you repair. Repairing a computer does not get you the same amount of cash as repairing shoes. Regardless, anyone can capitalize on their skill and get the best out of it, one just has to perfect it.
2. Farming and Agriculture
Agriculture is the backbone of Kenyan economy and if everyone shies away from it to pursue degrees and get white collar jobs, who will hold the country’s economy? Agriculture is one of the least demanding jobs in terms of financial input but one of the most demanding in terms of labor input.
However the returns in this particular investment can be rewarding if you get the right buyers for your agricultural products. In Kenya for instance, crops like maize, sugarcane and fruits have a large market and their demand is high
3. Stage Performing and Acting
This particular skill requires natural talent for one to flourish in the area and is difficult to enter. However if your talent is exemplary, you can easily get into the industry and once in the returns are definitely high. In this Industry, comedy is a rare field that has high opportunities as compared to other fields. The comedy industry in the country has grown tremendously in the recent past with the coming of comedy shows to local television.
If one is really talented, they can be famous and that means good pay from doing plays, advertisements, movies and more. Payment is usually by projects. Small projects don’t pay much, but big projects can pay millions.
4. Fashion Design, Tailoring and Knitting
Fashion design might seem like a skill that one has to go to school to master but it isn’t necessarily so.
This particular practice entails one making their creation into a reality. Creativity, practicality and artistic vision are all you need to become a great fashion designer and once you have established yourself you can partner with other designers and even make more money.
Fashion design doesn’t necessarily tie to making clothes, it extends to making accessories and anything related. Once your brand is well established, this practice can earn you even millions.
5. Photography
Most if not all of us have once been graced with the task of taking a photograph be it for a friend or professionally as a paid photographer. The fact is that most of us have photography skills but only few know that it can get you paid. It however comes with complementary skills like Photoshop and other photo editing software.
It only requires a small investment of a camera its compliments but once started you can get many opportunities to earn some money. Photographers can be hired for weddings, corporate events, and private events and can even sell their images as stock photos on various websites.
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