Labour and Skills Development Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has announced plans for a nationwide recruitment drive to connect Kenyans with overseas employment opportunities.
Mutua said the government will take overseas job opportunities to different parts of the country to make it easier for job seekers to access recruitment without traveling to Nairobi.
Speaking at the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) graduation ceremony at State House, Nairobi, on October 8, 2026, Mutua said the recruitment exercise would launch soon.
Mutua said the government would visit different parts of the country as part of the planned recruitment exercise, allowing young Kenyans to access information and opportunities closer to home.
He added that the exercise would ensure job seekers do not have to travel to Nairobi to pursue overseas employment opportunities.
“I will be launching a nationwide recruitment very soon. Kwa hivyo mkae macho, tukienda, tutakuja and we’ll go all over the country to ensure that you don’t have to come to Nairobi. We’ll come to you with different opportunities for employment,” said Mutua.
The Cabinet Secretary also said the government had so far facilitated opportunities that enabled 701,481 Kenyans to travel abroad since the Kenya Kwanza administration took office.
He said the government is working towards increasing the number to one million by December.
Mutua said the newly trained NITA graduates would be prioritized as the government seeks additional overseas employment opportunities.
“We now have up to date 701,481 Kenyans who have been able to travel since your government took over. We want to reach one million by December. And we are looking for new opportunities, and I'm going to ensure that these graduates of RPL are on the front line to getting these kazi majuu,” Alfred Mutua said
Mutua also addressed graduates' concerns about the costs of travelling abroad for employment.
He said the government was seeking partnerships with organizations, companies and foreign countries that could cover most of the expenses associated with overseas placement.
Mutua said the government would continue looking for new employment opportunities abroad and would seek to place NITA graduates at the forefront of the available opportunities.
“And that's what I've been doing, trying to get organizations and companies and countries that can pay for basically 98% of everything, so that the ticket is paid, everything is paid,” he added.