Job fairs in Kenya provide information on safe migration

The FAIRWAY Programme contributed support to Kenya’s Ministry of Labour and the National Employment Authority (NEA) to conduct a job fair in Mombasa (26 -28 June 2022) to provide information on safe and regular migration, including to the Middle East, with several more fairs planned in other regions in Kenya.

Access to employment opportunities remains a major challenge facing job seekers in Kenya, including potential migrant workers and returnee migrant workers. Some of the contributing factors include limited job search channels, lack of awareness of the existing public employment services, and insufficient labour market information. Job seekers lack reliable information about where they can find job vacancies and what their requirements are, while on the other hand, employers often face challenges in finding the right qualification match for vacant opportunities.

A team of government officials led by Mr. Simon K. Chelugui, (E.G.H), (Cabinet Secretary/Minister of Labour), Eng. Peter K. Tum, C.B.S. (Principal Secretary, Ministry of Labour) and Ms. Edith Okoki (Ag. Director General for NEA) being briefed by the National Project Officer (Dennis O. Orucho) about the FAIRWAY Programme at the ILO-FAIRWAY stand during the Job Fair Event in Mombasa on 28th June, 2022.

These challenges have resulted in many Kenyans seeking better employment opportunities abroad and the number of Kenyan migrant workers has increased significantly.

It is against this backdrop that the National Employment Authority (NEA), with FAIRWAY support, organized a Job Fair event in Mombasa County in June 2022 with the goal of discussion employment in Kenya, as well as safe migration abroad.
During the job fair in Mombasa, the Minister of Labour announced the Kenyan government’s plan to secure two safe houses in Saudi Arabia to support distressed Kenyan migrant workers.  


Subsequent fairs are being planned in the counties of Kisumu and Uasin Ngishu (Eldoret). The job fairs also provide an opportunity to raise awareness of the Migrant Resource Center (MRC) in Nairobi (Kasarani) established with FAIRWAY support. The creation of more MRCs in other major towns in Kenya is currently being explored.  

The FAIRWAY Programme and other ILO projects in Kenya are working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other partners of the Government of Kenya to assist the NEA to ensure appropriate support in the protection of migrant workers abroad, particularly in the Middle East.