Private universities lead in employability as Mt Kenya university the top priority

University students graduation

Private universities still the preferred certification for employers in Kenya. Employers say private universities have more and better skills than public universities.


However, in Public universities, employers prefer students from University of Nairobi than other universities.

Top Public University in the job market is the University of Nairobi while in Private university is Mt Kenya University.

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The State of Graduate Employability in Kenya report was commissioned by the Pan African Foundation and conducted by CPS International in 67 universities and 50 organizations between November and January. It was released on Thursday.


“University graduates who gathered experience before graduation had a higher premium to employers thus making them less affordable,” the survey says.


The report notes that employers consider work experience as a crucial asset for new graduates followed by skills, hobbies and talents.


Annually, about 27 private universities graduate not more than 500 students while about 21 others representing about 30 per cent graduate between 501-1,000 graduates.


Only seven per cent of the institutions graduated about 5,000 to 7,000 students annually, accounting for the highest number churned out of universities.


The survey shows employers still prefer undergraduate degree holders more than any other qualification, accounting for 52 per cent of those interviewed.


A minority of 2.2 per cent of those interviewed were PhD holders, 6.5 per cent had certificates (10.9), postgraduate diplomas (13.0) and masters degree holders were (15.2).