Two weeks after the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) heads of academic departments heard that physiotherapy was the second most sought-after course after nursing, its graduates have excelled in a job placement to Germany.
KMTC says its physiotherapy graduates have beaten a strong field of other Kenyan trainers, according to figures that the African Business Community (ABC), an international recruitment organisation specialising in healthcare job placements in Germany.
“We are talking about graduates who have been placed in jobs this year alone. We are currently preparing an additional 159 to be placed as soon as they are ready,” said Kelly Oluoch, the KMTC chief executive, in an alert sent through its communication desk.
The college is firing on all cylinders to create a useful jobs placement presence on the international market, one of the formulas being partnerships with global institutions.
Under the ABC placement, the accepted workers get, among others, German language training, professional recognition, and the eventual placement, giving them an advantage in transferring from Kenya to the foreign land.
The number of Kenyans in the medical profession seeking greener pastures in the developed world has increased with the nursing profession leading. According to various sources, nurses are leaving the country in big numbers daily although the process to boarding a plane into the lands of opportunity is intimidating and tortuous.
In the ABC placement, JKUAT secured 27 places, Moi University got seven while the Western-Kenya based Masinde Muliro University had four.
Other public universities training medical personnel in Kenya are the University of Nairobi, Maseno University, and Kenyatta University.
The other foreign lands accepting medical personnel from Kenya are the UK, Luxembourg, US, Australia, and Austria. Dr Oluoch said his institution was branching into Germany for the first time in search of jobs.
When the managers met in Mombasa to review thoughts from the public on “marketable courses” and other concerns, Ronald Wasike, the college registrar, told the gathering that physiotherapy has become a force to reckon with globally at a time many Kenyans were losing sleep over medical courses that are sending them to international markets.
During the discussions end of March under ‘Know Your Graduates initiative, KMTC heads of departments (HoDs) indicated that the public was keen on knowing the difference between some programmes.
They included physiotherapy, occupational therapy, orthopaedic technology, orthopaedic trauma medicine, dental technology, community oral health, medical engineering and optometry.
This is happening a few years after entry into KMTC programmers became more accessible after the public medical trainer agreed to join the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).
Joseah Cheruiyot,who chairs the KMTC board, has challenged the management of the institution to “listen to students” since “some of their ideas will enhance our competitiveness in the global market.”
Mr Chruiyot asked the staff to come up with initiatives to “drive transformation within the college”.
According to KMTC, it has in the recent months rolled out entrepreneurship and soft skills programmes to ensure learners get the much-needed competencies that will see them graduate ready for the increasingly competitive job market.
Some of the soft skills that employers are looking for are communication, ability to thrive in multi-cultural environments, time-keeping and the willingness to hold the hands of colleagues to deliver uninterrupted workflow, meet deadlines and soar above customer expectations.
