Chinese firms hold career fair to offer job opportunities to Kenyans

A job applicant is interviewed by a staff member of Roton Africa at a career fair of Chinese companies in Nairobi, Kenya, on Oct. 29, 2018. An organization of Chinese companies in Kenya on Monday opened a career fair here offering more than 1,000 job opportunities to Kenyans. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu)

An organization of Chinese companies in Kenya on Monday opened a career fair in Nairobi offering more than 1,000 job opportunities to Kenyans.

Li Xuhang, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said at the job fair that Chinese multinational companies will provide Kenyan talents with the best offers.

"There are over 50 Chinese companies providing more than 1,000 job opportunities," Li said during the "Hand in Hand for Common Growth" job fair held by Kenya-China Economic and Trade Association (KCETA).

Chinese companies, under their umbrella body KCETA, and with the support from the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, organized the day-long career fair in a bid to attract future employees and build relationships with the Kenyan youth.

Some of the leading companies that showcased their businesses include Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA), China Road and Bridge Corporation, China Wuyi, Huawei Kenya and AVIC International.

Li said that the event is an ideal platform for more bright young people to land their dream jobs and for Chinese companies to find their needed talents.

KCETA statistics showed that by the end of 2016, more than 42,000 local employees were working for 73 KCETA member companies.

Wang Yantao, representative of the KCETA and executive vice president of POWERCHINA International Group Limited, said that his organization is always encouraging Chinese firms to embrace localization in order to create more job opportunities for Kenyans, improve capacity building of human resources by training and technical support activities.

Wang said that the job fair is an appropriate platform that provides a unique opportunity for engagement, networking and potential partnerships between employers and the applicants.

"I have a strong belief that the career fair will be a win-win event for everyone and employers will find the best applicants and the applicants will find a place to realize their personal achievements," he added.

Wang observed that the career fair will also be a great event to improve employment and boost the economic growth in Kenya.

According to Wang, Chinese firms are happy to witness the dynamic economy and social growth and development of Kenya in the last decades and are proud to be engaged in the Kenyan economy.

He said that Chinese firms always recognize and appreciate the opportunities that Kenya has offered them.

Christopher Chika, director of Asia and Australasia Directorate at Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Chinese job fair came at a time when there are a lot of worry about Chinese involvement in Kenya and Africa.

"A lot of this is misinformed because China is coming into the global scene in a positive way and we are seeing the results of involvement," Chika said.

He observed that the standard gauge railway is the most famous evidence of the positive role that China has made in Kenya. He noted that Kenya's relations with China is both comprehensive and strategic and it is growing from strength to strength.

Chika said that there are over 400 Chinese enterprises in the Kenyan economy which provide many jobs to Kenyans and this number will increase because China is here to stay for the long haul.

He noted that Kenya is keen to partner with China so that it can borrow from the experiences that the Asian nation has gained over the past decades of its economic growth.

The Kenyan official said that China and Kenya are already developing industrial parks and special economic zones that will result in a lot of manufacturing activity and jobs for the youth.

According to the KCETA, the Chinese companies received more than 3,300 copies of resumes from local job seekers.