Fraudsters are on the loose in Eldoret Town, where they mostly target students in universities and middle-level colleges.

Unlike their primary and secondary school counterparts, whose parents deposit the fees in the institutions’ accounts, college students are often given cash to make the payments.

Investigations conducted showed that the con artists operate in crowded banking halls, where they pose as students who have already paid the fees and offer to help their “counterparts” to jump the queues.

Others pose as bank employees. To sweeten the deal, some students are offered discounts of about Sh5,000 for every Sh20,000 they pay.

Those who fall prey to these schemes are given pay-in slips which are rejected by colleges when the money does not reflect in the accounts later.

The counterfeit slip does not give details of the time of the transaction and the teller number indicated is not available at the banks. This makes it difficult to hold any bank cashier responsible.

“They have accomplices who pretend to have accepted the deal and display receipts they have allegedly been given by colleges after presenting the fake pay-in slips,” said an Eldoret Polytechnic student who lost Sh25,000.

The student, who declined to be named, citing embarrassment, said he was told that for every Sh20,000, he would be given an additional Sh5,000. He shared the message with some of his friends, who rushed for the “good deal”.

“Sadly, it emerged that my money was long gone when it was eventually discovered that the pay-in-slip was fake,” said the student, displaying an invoice indicating that he still owed the college the amount he thought he had paid.

The student, who has since been evicted from the institution’s hostels, said polytechnic authorities discovered that the money in their account did not match the receipts they had issued for fees paid in.

Among the higher learning institutions in the region are Moi University, Eldoret Polytechnic, Kenya Medical Training College, Rift Valley Technical Training Institute, Mosoriot Teachers Training College and Kenya Institute of Management.

The fraudsters are said to have been operating in Eldoret since 2008. Most institutions have now put in place mechanisms to thwart them after losing millions of shillings.

Students found to have submitted the fake pay-in-slips had their school fees accounts reversed. Moi University’s chief academic officer, Prof J. K. ole Karei, said the fraud cases ended when the university reviewed its policy for paying fees.

“It was agreed that students would only be issued with university receipts to acknowledge payment of fees after we received a bank statement indicating the fees they paid was deposited in the university account,” Prof ole Karei said.

However, he could not disclose how much the institution had lost before they moved to seal the loophole. Colleges that admit few students have not been affected much as their internal audit mechanisms are able to detect any counterfeit transactions fast.

“We verify the bank statements that the students give us before declaring any financial transaction valid,” said African Institute of Research and Development Studies’ accountant Valentine Morogo.

Mr Josephat Kipkemboi Eldoret Polytechnic’s dean of students, said most of the affected students were traumatized and his office was counseling them. The institution is said to have lost over Sh10 million in the scam that was exposed last month.

Students pursuing diploma and certificate courses in university colleges will also benefit from government loans and bursaries in a move intended to strengthen middle-level training in the country.

Higher Education permanent secretary Crispus Kiamba said the ministry was working on a bursary programme for students not covered by the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb).

Prof Kiamba said this followed complaints that the government had sidelined middle-level colleges, turning most of them into universities and giving a blind eye to students pursuing certificate and diploma courses.

“This country cannot develop without middle-level training and that is why we have factored it in the budget and very soon students in that cadre will be benefiting from government funding.

“I would like to allay any fears that such cadres will be done away with in the university colleges that are coming up.

“The important thing is to ensure that students pursuing such courses are assisted to proceed with higher learning,” he said.

Prof Kiamba was speaking at the Pwani University College in Kilifi during the launch of the institution’s strategic plan and service charter.

The permanent secretary said the college’s progress could see it achieve full university status in three years.

The college principal, Prof Mohamed Rajab, said the demand for higher education far outstripped the available capacity in public and private universities, noting that only five per cent of those completing secondary education secured places in public university

Come tomorrow and son of Jomo will be presenting the Kenya National budget for the second time.

What gets me worried is the amount of tax we the employed pay faithfully. Take this example, if you earn 100K after tax it comes to around K’sh 75,000, close to 25K having gone to the government inform of P.A.Y.E. tax. If you earn K’sh 25,000 like I used to some years ago then your net pay comes to K’sh 22,000.

I know many would be excited to get a job and don’t give a hoot on paying government tax but surely should government take between 20% to 30% of your pay? And we all know how well government uses our taxes.

Talking of salaries, how much is enough to sustain an average salary earner in Kenya.

Things are very expensive in the market – thanks to the Government of National unity.As the government claim to improve the standard of living of its subjects it stylishly destroys them knowingly or unknowingly after adding a few shillings to their salaries. Everything goes up in the market; food stuff, electricity, etc. Transportation and every other means of having a better living get so expensive that they become luxuries for some people.

On Monday i used a Matatu to Westlands and this lady  got into a fight with the tout because of a 10 bob misunderstanding. Listening to the exchange you could tell how important the ten bob was to her.

In your opinion, what should be the lowest salary for a diploma/graduate in Kenya? In my humble estimate the minimum should be K’sh 25,000 and should not be taxed.  I hope Uhuru Kenyatta is reading this.

Another question, are you being paid your worth?

Job seekers in Kenya could soon be required to have a university degree as the basic qualification before they can be considered for employment.

Head of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Anthony Kilele said Thursday Kenya is going the India way and other fast developing countries where there is a larger number of graduates than there are jobs available.

The requirement for a degree stems from the increase in the number of graduates coupled with the added number of universities and constituent colleges over the past few years.

Mr Kilele spoke as the Labour Ministry and the bureau launched a survey on Kenya’s manpower, which is expected to find out the required skills and what changes are needed in institutions of higher learning.

“The beauty of this is that there is a mismatch between the skills available in the job market and what the industry needs. With this survey, we hope we shall be able to correct that,” said Mr Kilele after the meeting held at the Laico Regency Hotel.

A mismatch in the labour market also means that people would also end up in jobs they do not like or are not trained for as there no others available.

The survey would also determine what changes need to be implemented in training programmes at institutions of higher learning in order to meet the needs of the job market.

Mr Kilele said the pilot survey will involve 40 teams of 90 data collectors, who will be fanning out into the 16 districts that have been selected for the initial study.

They will collect information from households, industries, institutions of higher learning and from the jua kali or informal sector.

He said about Sh20 million would be spent on the research, which should go on over 25 days, and this would be used to fuel vehicles, pay allowances and cater for other logistical costs.

The results of the pilot survey will determine how the larger national survey will be carried out later this year and Mr Kilele said Sh150 million would be required for this bigger project.

Respondents will be asked about their level of education and training, level of employment and whether they are in the jobs they were trained for.

Labour assistant minister Sospeter Ojaamong said the survey’s findings would also be used to establish a National Skills Inventory, a database of Kenya’s workers and their qualifications.

“It is expected that the inventory will also help the country to determine the trends in supply of skills, skill needs by industry, skill gaps and identification and profiling of Kenyans in the Diaspora,” he said.

The results of the survey are expected to be ready by August and these together with the results of the national census will influence the course of the planned national survey.

The AIESEC Kenya Career Fair this Friday and Saturday at Sarit Centre, from 10:00AM to 5:00PM.
Recent graduates and students looking for jobs or internships will have the chance to give their CV to top companies in Kenya

Go to our website for all informations: http://career.aiesec.or.ke

During the event, these professional seminars will be held:
Friday April 30th:
2pm: GIBEBE – “Imagine, Beleive, Become”
3pm: Ernst & Young – “Career Planning for Success”

Saturday May 1st:
2pm: UN-Habitat – “Working within the United Nations”
3pm: Penya Africa – “Opportunities in the creative arts industry”
A first in Kenya!

If you can’t make it to the event, you can watch an online live broadcast of the seminars

http://live.aiesec.or.ke/

For the last one week or so we have had a problem with the job emails sent daily to your inbox. When you double click on the job title it’s leading you to a ‘not found’ page on the main career point website. We sincerely apologize and at the same time appreciate those of you who wrote to us on the same.

We have since fixed this ‘bug’ and the website is operating normally. However, we still have a problem with archive emails (those sent previously).

As such we kindly request you to use the search button on the left side if you looking for a specific job posted earlier.

Thanks for being a regular visitor and if there is anything we can improve on please let us know. If you have found career point useful let us know too. If you want more on a specific issue do leave a comment below.

We wish you the best in your career and professional life and will support you where we can.And if you have not subscribed do so using the simple form on the right hand side.

Regards,

Career Point Admin.

http://www.aiesec.or.ke/careerfair/

There is also a seminar about “How to get ready for your career” given by Mike Eldon on April 29th at University of Nairobi from 2PM to 4PM.

Last week its was the turn of East Africa Magazines, the publishers of True Love and Drum magazines who closed thier offices and in doing so over 30 employees were left jobless. To me this is no big news. Companies go broke all the time and i have never believed in the myth of job security anyway.

What i have a problem with is the tendency of Kenyan employers to just wake up one morning and deliver the bad news as if they had a bad dream last night.

This is how one employee narrates how they got the sack.

By CLAY MUGANDA
Until 11 am on Monday this week, I was the deputy editor of Drum.

I had left the house early that morning to attend a breakfast meeting in Upper
Hill area and then headed to the office at Wilson Airport to send a story that was to appear in the May edition.

The photographs, which were taken in January, had been sent to the Cape Town office, where the managing editor, the “super”sub editors, and the graphic designers are stationed.

At around 10 am, I received a call that the general manager had called a staff meeting for 11 am.

Around 10.55am, an accountant walked out of the board room and I accosted her because I wanted to know what was going on. She did not
tell me.

Soon afterwards, the editors walked out, laughing. We asked what was going on, they said we had shut down. I went downstairs for a smoke!

On returning to the newsroom at 11.03am, I found everyone silent. I was waiting for the GM to make the big announcement. Instead, he said
those with questions could see him individually. Apparently,he had already made the announcement and we were all jobless!

My question is…

What happens to

1. Those who had loans with banks.

2. Those newly married and you have a young family.

3. Those who are the sole breadwinner.

4.But most importantly and in an objective manner…why do Kenyan employers treat their staff like trash? Surely the management knew what was to come!!

5. And now to you…what are your plans just in case your department is phased out, restructuring takes place or any other crazy concept your employer might use just to get rid of you.

I will say this once again. It pays to have a plan B. Always!!! Or you will be found sound asleep!!

AshleyMadison.com, the dating site for married people (yes, you heard right), surveyed all of their new members last year. Of the 1.9 million folks who signed up to cheat, er, date in 2009, these were the top professions:

For Women:
1. Teachers
2. Unemployed Moms at home
3. Nurses
4. Administrative Assistants and secretaries.
5. Real Estate Agents

For Men:
1. Doctors
2. Police Officers
3. Lawyers
4. Real Estate Agents
5. Engineers

The president and founder of AshleyMadison.com Noel Biderman notes these top professions are often high stress and require many to work long hours.

For his book “The Problem with Women … is Men,” author Charles Orlando interviewed 1,200-plus women and 400+ men and discovered women cheat mostly for emotional reasons, while men admitted to cheating largely for physical or sexual gratification with no emotional tie. And the men who were perceived themselves as “powerful” or “influential” (like doctors, cops and lawyers), say their cheating was “justifiable.” Huh?

By JOHN MUCHIRI and MAUREEN ONYANGO. Nation Media.

Former TV anchor Esther Arunga, who has been in the media spotlight in the past two weeks, is now married to the all mysterious Quincy Timberlake, who is still in police custody.

Not sure how to handle interviews and job search in today’s competitive Kenya job market?

How do you ensure you have a brilliant career.

Then join us on Saturday 13th March From 2.00 to5.00 Pm as Dr Chris Hart takes you through this Saturday careers session.

Seminar Venue. YMCA Statehouse Road Near University of Nairobi.

Cost per individual is K’sh 1,000. Over two freinds booking together K’sh 750 each.

Payment deadline is on Wednesday 10th March and payment can be done through our offices or Mpesa. Courtesy.  http://www.staff-kenya.com

Contact Primrose at  training@staff-kenya.com. 0718610023, 0202512394.

Reserve your slot today as limited seats available.

Get a chance to network with fellow Kenyan professionals and ask those nagging career and job related questions.

When it comes to careers, some things seem obvious. Like, for example, what to wear. Some years back, it was pretty much standard to wear a suit and tie to the office, regardless of gender.Ladies could sometimes wear floral shirts with their suits, while gents might get away with checked blazers.

Suits are still a given for office work, but some environments now allow for smart casual, which is a nightmare in itself, because, apparently, it does not translate into t-shirts and jeans.

So how is a new employee meant to figure out what to wear?

There are some pretty basic guidelines you can follow. For the conventional careers like finance, you more or less have a uniform of a plain shirt, a neat suit or a knee-length skirt. And government offices still expect you to wear a tie, or a simple dress and a blazer at all times.
But in some work environments, the dress code can get a little tricky. For example, regardless of the industry, graphic designers almost always wear jeans, and accountants generally wear suits. So you may spot Levis in the IT department of a bank, or Gianni Versaci on the Finance Manager of XYZ Advertising, which only adds to the confusion.

Two little tricks can help you avoid any office fashion gaffes. One, watch your boss. Note how they dress, then follow their style. This helps in two ways. One, assuming your boss likes what they wear, they will approve of your wardrobe, which makes your life that much easier. And two, we are always advised to dress for the job we want, not the job we have. So what better job to dress for than your boss?
But make sure whatever you wear at least looks somewhat cheaper. You really, really, really don’t want your wardrobe to threaten your boss.

The second trick is to think of your mother. I know this sounds ridiculous, but think of how she always warned you to have clean undergarments, just in case you had an accident. Now picture your mother walking into your office unannounced. Would she hug you as she straightened your tie, or would she pinch your ear and drag you home to ‘dress properly’, or worse, throw her poncho over you and she invoked the ancestors to help out your dress code?
This applies as much to the gents as to the ladies. Your mother would probably not be very amused if you walked into her chama meeting in an old t-shirt and shorts. She wants her son to look mature and presentable so she can sell him off to the innocent church daughters. So you might want to leave your pretty little earring at home. And as for that matching bracelet and chain your girlfriend gave you, the one with your name carved on the mannish ivory drum totem – three words: long-sleeved collared shirt.

In terms of footwear, closed shoes work best. They’re more conservative, less distressing in dust and rain, and easier to run with in case of riots. Plus, the boss is less likely to notice your intricate, expensive pedicure. For the guys, any neat, polished leather will do. Suede is too dressy [and looks expensive], and canvas is best left to the advertisers and the sports field.

Liberal offices can get away with a lot more, and where artists are involved, you could probably pass in a shuka and akala sandals. But here, again, watch your boss. If he sports the hand-conditioned uncombed-hair look, you might not want to wear a hat. If half your office has dreadlocks, just make sure your hair is washed and you’re good to go.

But remember to dress for the occasion as well. Regardless of how scruffy your daily look is, you might not want to march into a Minister’s Office in Rasta colours and an Arafat – you might not make it through the door.

Regardless of your work environment, your office is a temple, a sanctuary where you burn offerings to the deities of money. It is also the one place your mother would be glad to show her friends. So make sure your office wear gives her reason to be proud.

Unless of course your mother is Paris Hilton

Personally i have no problem with what happens in individuals private life but if the resignation and subsequent marriage cancellation was a result of bad advice then something is amiss.

Find out what some of you had to say here.

http://www.careerpointkenya.com/2010/02/has-esther-arunga-lost-it.html

She has broken off her engagement and cancelled her wedding due to the wishes of a “spiritual leader from the US” who sends them instructions.

Tusker Project Fame teacher and jazz musician pastor Joseph Nimroo Hellon has denied claims that he runs a cultist church that has entrapped Esther.

What started with a court case in Kibera where Hellon was prosecuted for sending an abusive message to a member of his church has sparked a series of controversial events, including claims that he has targeted several media personalities for recruitment to his church.

Police launched investigations after her parents filed a complaint, but police sources yesterday said it was difficult to prove that the church was a cult.

“We could not prove that the girl (Esther) had been kidnapped or was being held against her will,” the CID officer said.

Yesterday Hellon said that all the charges against him are false and malicious.

“A couple of guys in my church started a hate campaign against me after they left and now because their spiritual beliefs were contrary to what the church believes in, they have even started their own church,” he said. “The CID investigations against me have been completed and they found out that it was a case of slander and it has been withdrawn.”

The saxophonist who talked to The Star yesterday evening said he had been unavailable to answer questions because on Thursday evening, police confiscated his phone and computers for investigation.

“Now that they do not have a case against me or the church, they returned everything to me and withdrew it.”

The Finger of God church is known for its middle class followers. The church services are usually held at conference centres in the city.

Hellon said that he has been housing the TV personality for a year now.

He accused his personal assistant for hacking into his email and using the information to slander him.

“I know about those emails, they are with my lawyers now,” he said.

In one of the said emails Hellon is promised Sh100,000 to buy land to build the church by a US based televangelist if he follows a set of rules.

The rules demanded that Nigerian musician Quincy Timberlake be made an apostle in the church. In addition Hellon was to record a number of tracks with Timberlake him and make sure they get a lot of media attention.

Other conditions include Hellon throwing out some members of his church from his Runda residence especially those opposed to Quincy and to “never readmit the disfellowshiped apostles.”

Sources said it was after this that problems started brewing in the church.

Some members like Esther Arunga’s then fiance Wilson Malaba and event Guru Kevin Ombajo were thrown out.

Things took a turn for the worse when the ‘US tel-evangelist’ prophesied that Quincy is the right husband for the news anchor. CID officers investigating the case said they established that E¬ther and Quincy are lovers.

An inside source claims, “Esther’s impending nuptials to Wilson have been put on hold till the whole drama dies down. No final decision can be made because she is not herself and the decisions she is making are out of fear.”

On February 11, the police visited the Runda residence looking for the anchor after the family members expressed concern for her safety and well-being.

The following day, in a chat with the televangelist on gmail, Esther admitted that she has disowned her family.

“That is not true,” Hellon said. “Yesterday Esther met with the mother and had lunch. The reason why the parents are upset is because the whole family is Adventist while she has gone to join an apostolic church.”

As for the churches spiritual practices Hellon said, “There is nothing clandestine, we do everything other churches do, we read the bible and follow it, partake of Holy Communion and baptize.”

Tusker Project Fame winner Alpha Rwirangira also attended the church services in the months that he was in Kenya after his big win.

In an interview with The Star from his home in Rwanda, he was asked if he left because of the churches spiritual practices he said, “That is true, what I saw is true that is why I left.”

Another former TPF contestant Patricia Kihoro denied been part of the mentorship programme at Hellon’s Runda residence where a number of women are housed. “No I had no idea there was something like that.

Kilimani police advised Esther’s family to seek remedy from the courts as they investigate other criminal claims leveled against Quincy and Hellon.

The police say the lady is above 18 years and her case doesn’t warrant offenses like kidnapping or abduction since the family was aware of her decision to quit her employment and move into the Runda house.

The saxophonist’s final words were, “I’m an upright man and I won’t stand for anything unbiblical. I’m not afraid to stand before a camera and say it.”

Hellon is set to appear at the Kibera court on February 26 for fixing of a hearing date on the abusive text message

By Grace Kerongo. The Star

Today we look at Equity Bank  employees who were dismissed unfairly. and we ask the question: did they deserve to get the boot – or not? Equity bank last month sacked over 50 workers. Equity bank top managers decided that it was going to be a pleasant surprise to just summon the affected workers one evening forcing them to write resignation letters and announcing their termination there and then.

Surely in all fairness is this ethical? Some employees had already enrolled for Masters, others were newly wed. Bottom line is that the bank was insensitive and acted in a callous manner.

Where else in the world do you sack people without notice, without reason, just give them letters with the caption service no longer needed, if not in Kenya.Equity bank just sacked some very good hands with experience because of cost cutting .so much about what they say about following steps before an employee is sacked, so much for a right to defend yourself, so much for employment ethics, if this is what it comes with then you are better of jobless.

My heartfelt sympathy to those who were sacked ( not even given a chance to resign)! And please don’t apply for a job there as they are cost cutting.

You can read their version here

Making the announcement, Telkom Kenya chief executive Mickael Ghossein said several factors such as rising cost of doing business and continued impact of cable vandalism as the main reason for down sizing.

“I can officially say that we have embarked on a restructuring program which will affect about 100 middle management employees,” Mr Ghossein said.

Telkom Kenya Human Resource Manager Mary Nalianya said the move was also geared towards getting employees who were compatible with the company’s business focus.

“We have set a new focus for the company and the downsizing is to get us the right workforce who can take the company forward,” she said.

She added that no more staff would be sent home during the year.

This is the second major restructuring in two years. In April 2009, the company sent home close to 600 employees.

At the same time, the company is set to invest close to Sh16 billion in 2010 in capital expenditure as it seeks to increase its market share.

Mr Ghossein says the company has invested Sh18 billion between 2008 and 2009.

“We plan to invest the money across all our networks to put Telkom Kenya on a competitive path,” he said.

The company, which is the only integrated telecommunications provider has about 1.2 million customers on its GSM network, 250,000 subscribers on its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network and close to 500,000 fixed lines.

The Chief Executive said 2010 would be all about increasing revenue by ensuring it had a superior network.

‘Orange money’, the company’s mobile money transfer service, is also set to be rolled out in the first half of the year.