The government is yet to absorb all the 57,000 Public Service Commission (PSC) interns interviewed last year despite a directive by President William Ruto to increase the number to be recruited this year.
Of the 57,000 interns, only 8,000 have been absorbed.
This emerged during a meeting between Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria and board members, chief executive officers (CEOs) and governance officers of State corporations at a Naivasha hotel.
The heads of corporations are attending a three-day induction workshop on principles of corporate governance, including policies governing board operations and ethics.
“State corporations are better placed to offer placement for the young graduates, while instilling in them ethics and integrity, for the posterity of public service. I urge State corporations to prioritise absorption of the interns,” said Mr Kuria as he regretted the sluggish absorption.
Mr Kuria also announced government plans to partner with the private sector to increase internship opportunities for the thousands of youths graduating from institutions of higher learning each year.
“The government also seeks to partner with the private sector to absorb the remainder of interns,”he said, revealing that he has already held a meeting with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) and asked them to complement the Public Service Internship Programme (PSIP).
“On Tuesday, I held a meeting with various representatives of Kepsa led by Executive Director Gloria Ndekei. The meeting discussed the internship programme partnership that we will roll out soon between the government and the private sector,”Mr Kuria said in a statement.
According to the CS, the decision to partner with the private sector will also help to address the issue of the low number of graduates and youth absorbed into various government departments each year.
Already, the Teachers Service Commission has hired thousands of teacher interns on contract. They have been teaching in junior secondary schools. The commission has indicated it will move them to permanent and pensionable terms.
While directing PSC to increase the number of interns, President Ruto also ordered that they intern for two years before being absorbed on permanent and pensionable terms. He said that this policy will be adopted in all sectors, not only for the teaching profession.
The President further stated that the government plans to create at least 100,000 paid industrial internship opportunities across the country.
