Employers struggle to find qualified talent despite high youth unemployment - report

The findings warn that unless training keeps pace with demand, the country risks missing out on its youth dividend.

The country’s workforce is young and eager, but many remain unprepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

The skills gap and gender analysis report 2025 by Mastercard and BrighterMonday shows that 62 percent of employers believe graduates lack the skills the market needs.

With over 75 percent of the country’s population under 35, the report warns that Kenya’s youth potential could go untapped if training doesn’t match the industry’s demand. ICT and digital literacy have emerged as the most sought-after skills, ranked as critical by three in four employers.

Communication, teamwork and problem-solving also top the list of soft skills employers say are essential. But access to digital opportunities remains uneven. Nearly 90 percent of employers now recruit online, yet only a quarter of rural youth have access to reliable internet.

“The first thing they do is they go to LinkedIn and then they want to see what is your profile, what is your description and all that. If you don’t have a presence there, already they put doubt into who you are,” said Dr. Edwine Ochieng, lead research consultant, BrighterMonday Kenya.

The report further says that women and persons with disabilities remain underrepresented in fast-growing sectors such as ICT, fintech and construction. For most young job seekers, internships and apprenticeships remain the main entry point into employment.

“Between 2022 and 2025, we notice that 90 percent of the new jobs that were created were in the formal sector,” said Dr. Edwine Ochieng, lead research consultant, BrighterMonday Kenya.

To close the skills gap, the report calls for closer collaboration between training institutions and employers, curriculum reforms guided by industry demand, and broader access to affordable internet and digital devices across all 47 counties.