Siasa PLACE Launch “Taptangelei, Unemployment & Digital job” A Study On Youth Perspective On The Changing Nature Of Work

Advocacy For Future Of Work, Decent Work And The Dignity Of Work And Workers

Siasa PLACE, a youth-led and youth-focused civic-tech organization has shed light on the aspirations and challenges being faced by Kenyan youth in the digital market.

Led by their executive director Nerima Wako, the organization has launched a study as a contribution to the ongoing national, continental and global conversation on the future of work, decent work and the dignity of work and workers.

Siasa PLACE Launch “Taptangelei, Unemployment & Digital job” A Study On Youth Perspective On The Changing Nature Of Work

“In Kenya for instance, the ever-rising number of educated unemployment, workforce displacements during Covid and postCovid era, and an economy in regression have all put significant strain on available opportunities, forcing especially many young talented graduates into the digital/online economy…”

“Faced with job losses from business shutdowns due a sluggish economy, a brutal taxation regime, and inability to demonstrate tangible job creation, the past several months has seen the government of Kenya put significant emphasis on the opportunities that exist in technology-enabled digital and online jobs for Kenyan youth” Explains Wako

Nerima Wako, Executive Director, Siasa PLACE

There have been public calls by senior government officials extolling the virtues of big-tech companies and business outsourcing companies (BPOs) operating in Kenya, and encouraging youth to prepare and take advantage of the ‘Taptangelei’ economic phenomenon as it has come to be popularly known.

However, the campaign for digital and online opportunities is often silent on the risks and perils of this emerging area of opportunity. Not only is a clear and robust policy and regulatory framework for labour in the digital era lacking, but there is also a lack of job security and social protection for workers.

Irregular hiring and termination of digital workers by global companies e.g. Facebook, Remotasks and Jumia Food delivery services highlights the vulnerability of workers in this emerging realm of work, and especially those who depend primarily on such digital platforms work for their livelihood.

Additionally, a scorched earth and adversarial taxation regime has sown confusion among a once thriving community of – predominantly youthful – content creators (TikTokers, Youtubers etc).

In view of the above context, and particularly the government push for digital/online jobs, this rapid study sought to document dominant perspectives on work, employment, digital work and related opportunities from urban Kenyan youth across the four city counties of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru.

Siasa PLACE Launch “Taptangelei, Unemployment & Digital job” A Study On Youth Perspective On The Changing Nature Of Work

The Findings

1. Youth feel that work equals Income, while employment means regular, predictable income Youth also feel that ‘work’ should have a sense of ‘purpose’ and ‘fulfilment.’
2. Digitalisation has created more opportunities: The majority of the study respondents (92%) agree that digitalisation has created more opportunities for work. However, there is a disconnect as only 39% of those interviewed admitted to having attempted or are keen to explore digital job opportunities.
3. 29% believed that these jobs neither solve the unemployment problem nor is there adequate information concerning them.
4. 54% of the respondents approve programmes such as Ajira and Jitume which provide the training and equip interested youth with skills needed for digital jobs. However, only 15% felt that there is adequate or sufficient information on digital jobs.
5. Temporariness: Majority of the youth mostly consider online opportunities as ‘part-time’ and temporary opportunities to enable one to keep up with economic hardships or as a ‘landing space’ as one waiting for ‘A job!”
6. Study respondents are concerned about job security and social protection of digital jobs. Abrupt closure of companies and/or unprocedural termination of contracts.

Siasa PLACE Launch “Taptangelei, Unemployment & Digital job” A Study On Youth Perspective On The Changing Nature Of Work

In line with the study, Siasa PLACE has made the following recommendations

1. We call for the Recognition of Digital Work as Employment: There is a pressing need to review and amend existing legislative frameworks to recognize digital work as a legitimate form of employment and to extend the associated benefits and protections to digital workers.
2. Quality Over Quantity: The focus must shift from merely creating jobs to ensuring that these jobs meet the minimum threshold of decency and dignity, providing fair remuneration, job security, and opportunities for growth and fulfilment.
3. Existing initiatives should provide comprehensive training and support to youth interested in pursuing digital careers. Educational institutions and vocational training programs play a pivotal role in equipping youth with the skills and mindset needed to thrive in the digital age.
4. Collaborative Action: Achieving meaningful progress in advancing decent work for Kenya’s youth requires collaborative action across sectors. By bringing together policymakers, legislators, digital workers, labour unions, and youth-serving organizations, we can foster a conducive environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and inclusive economic growth.
5. The convergence of labour, technology and human rights requires new tools to minimise exploitation and other vulnerabilities for the new digital workers. Developing and enforcing new policy and regulatory frameworks will be critical.
6. Deepen government popularisation efforts, accompanied by sufficient and accurate information to empower youth to make informed choices and access to devices and/or equipment.
7. Review, update and enforce conditions of entry by BPOs and big-tech into the Kenyan market, with a focus on accountability and compliance with the provisions of the Constitution of Kenya.
8. Expand the scope of the preparatory training under existing government initiatives like Ajira Programme for interested youth, to include post-training support, linkages with capital, as well support for equipment for those in need.
9. Reduce duplication for political expediency, and develop well-thought, long-term, sustainable ‘Digital Skills Improvement and Opportunity’ programmes that survive multiple political regimes, to enable learning and improvement.
10. Finally, to the youth and the coming digital work generation,

Digitalisation will bring new opportunities. It will also eradicate others or reduce significantly the human agency required to do them. Adaptation, upskilling and attitude change will be key to surviving and thriving in the emerging digital workspace across all sectors of the economy.

Nerima Wako, Executive Director, Siasa PLACE

While concluding the briefing, Executive director said added that “the coming days, we shall commence consultations with diverse stakeholders including youth and youth-serving organizations as well as the relevant governments ministries and departments to pursue the realization of these recommendations”

The organization has also affirmed that the medical Interns and the medical fraternity’s demands in their ongoing pursuit of the human right to decent and dignifying work are valid and legitimate.