Nairobi, Kenya 5 March 2015 – A new report launched today by Future First Global shows the transformative impact alumni are having in the employment potential for secondary school students in Nairobi.
The report ‘An Alumni Community for Every School: Learning from Kenya pilot programmes’ examines a two year pilot programme across fifteen schools in Nairobi. The programme has been piloting Future First’s school based alumni model which aims to improve school to work transition by engaging former students as careers advisers, mentors, providers of work placements and as donors.
While improvements in access to education has meant young people in Kenya are better educated than ever before, 67% of young Kenyans between the ages of 15 and 24 are thought to be out of work and millions more enter unstable employment each year.[i] The mismatch between what is learnt at school and the skills required in the 21st century labour market, along with a lack of access to information about jobs[ii], are among the most frequently cited causes of youth unemployment. Former students can help bridge the gap between school and the work place. The pilot has shown students are inspired to hear from people they can relate to and as such they are empowered to work harder to get an education which will enable them to get the job they want.
For example, 96% of students at Kenya High School, one of the pilot schools, said Future First alumni careers event made them want to work harder at school.
“We are incredibly excited to see how children are benefiting from the exposure to their former students. We will use the learning from this report to inform the scale up of our programme into eight new counties in Kenya this year, and into four new countries outside of Kenya”, said Emily Laurie, Managing Director at Future First Global.
“It was great to meet former students who have succeeded and have jobs I admire. It inspires me to study hard” said Maratah, Grade 4 student, Dandora High School.
The report is being launched with representatives from the pilot schools and members of the Kenyan education community.
About Future First Global
Future First Global’s vision is to turn every school into a community by engaging former students, now in jobs, as mentors, role models and work experience providers to young people at their old schools. By doing this, we hope to have a global impact in supporting the school-to-work transition for millions of young people.
For additional information contact: Pauline Wanja, Pauline@futurefirst.co.ke
[i] Association for the Development of Education in Africa (2014), Kenya Country Report for the 2014 Ministerial Conference on Youth Employment
[ii] United Nations Development Program and Government of Kenya (2009), Kenyan Human Development Report.