Job seekers can now have a sigh of relief after Parliament passed a bill removing requirements for clearance certificates during job applications.
Nominated MP Gideon Keter who sponsored the bill, noted that MPs passed the bill with no objections. He explained that only individuals offered jobs will be required to carry out background checks and provide required certificates.
To prove his case, Keter noted that some states in the U.S mandated employers to shoulder the burden of verifying their new recruits’ histories.
“Job seeking should not be an adventure where job seekers must prove that they are not a wrongdoer or haven’t engaged in any crime in the past. These are young men and women who are more than ready to offer their skills and knowledge for the advancement of this nation’s greatness,” he added.
Certificates that were previously required during job searches and applications include the certificate of good conduct from the DCI, clearance from the Ethics and Corruption Commission (EACC), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) clearance, Higher Loans Board (HELB) and a Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) clearance.
Costs to acquire these certificates are Ksh. 1,050 for a good conduct certificate, and additional fees to obtain a CRB clearance certificate. Other certificates are largely provided for free but applicants often incur service costs of varying degrees.
An investigation carried out by the Parliamentary Budget Office indicated that the state makes Ksh. 750 million from job seekers every year but none of the funds trickle down to the youth kitty.
“Public-funded institutions should never be cash cows. From the research done by the Parliamentary Budget Office, these institutions have been collecting over Ksh. 750 million every year from job seekers,” read an excerpt from the report.