Rural Employment Services: Empowering communities through local partnerships in Kenya

In Dadaab, Kenya, refugee-led organisations are transforming how employment services reach displaced populations. Under the Rural Employment Services (RES) model, local partners like Dadaab Refugee Voices are bridging gap between job-seekers and opportunities.

The model, supported by ILO PROSPECTS in partnership with the National Employment Authority since 2024, has introduced different approaches. It relies on local partners to provide jobseeker registration, career guidance, job matching, and referrals via both physical desks and online platforms. Through training in areas such as CV writing, application processes, and vocational trades, jobseekers are better prepared to connect with opportunities in both refugee camps and host communities.

Mohammed Abdullahi Jimale, Project Coordinator of Dadaab Refugee Voices, shares how his organisation is helping young people, women, and persons with disabilities to access job opportunities, gain employability skills, and build sustainable livelihoods.

As Jimale explains, this model is already changing lives—from supporting a young man living with disability to secure formal work, to enabling women, particularly single mothers, to start their own small businesses. To date, 6,189 jobseekers from host and refugee communities have registered with RES and received skills upgrades, entrepreneurship training, and online/digital skills, leading to internships, work-based learning, apprenticeships, and employment. By working through trusted local actors, RES is creating pathways to decent work and self-reliance for refugees and hosts alike.