Engineers petition gov’t to create 10,000 jobs

The Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) has petitioned
the government to create at least 10,000 jobs for unemployed engineers across
the country.

Led by their president, Eng. Shammah Kiteme, members of the
institution staged a peaceful march on Wednesday to highlight what they termed
as the growing crisis of engineer unemployment, with over half of the country’s
qualified engineers currently out of work.

In their petition, the engineers raised concerns over the
exclusion of local professionals from major infrastructure projects, accusing
some foreign firms of sidelining Kenyan engineers or underpaying them while
reaping the benefits of government contracts.

They called for strict policy
enforcement to prioritise the participation and fair compensation of local
experts.

The engineers further outlined job creation proposals,
including 1,500 opportunities in the road sector through the proper assignment
of resident engineers, 2,000 in the energy sector if local firms are prioritised,
and 4,000 in the affordable housing programme.

They added that an additional
1,000 jobs could be created in the water sector, 500 in aviation through
airport expansion, and another 1,000 in agriculture, irrigation, and railway
projects.

IEK also called for an audit of foreign firms operating in
Kenya to ensure they compensate engineers fairly and urged the government to
penalise those that misuse professional licenses or dismiss engineers without
proper compensation.