Security Sector and BrighterMonday Seal Youth Jobs Deal

By Mbungu Harrison

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

BrighterMonday Kenya has partnered with the country’s security sector to strengthen corporate security leadership and expand employment opportunities for youth aged 18 to 35 in a move aimed at matching skills development with growing industry demands.

The collaboration, announced on Monday, April 20, 2026, seeks to place young people into “dignified and fulfilling work” in Kenya and across Africa while helping organizations adopt intelligence-led approaches to emerging threats and operational risks.

The initiative will be anchored under BrighterMonday’s Gen-Kazi Program, implemented in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.

The program targets upskilling and reskilling youth with a focus on underserved groups: 70% women, 70% non-urban youth, and 10% persons with disabilities.

BrighterMonday’s country programme lead and head of strategy TATC Penina Kimani said the partnership responded to a shifting security landscape that demands proactive talent pipelines.

“Kenyan organisations are increasingly required to adopt proactive, intelligence-led, and skills-driven approaches to onboarding talent in the security sector, particularly in the face of evolving threats and operational risks. BrighterMonday will collaborate with security sector associations in placing young people aged 18 to 35 into dignified and fulfilling work in the security sector in Kenya and Africa,” she says.

The programme head noted that the security sector underpins all areas of the economy and must evolve alongside employer expectations.

The partnership will deliver training services to participants and support youth placement through direct employer linkages and recruitment activities tailored to current job needs.

“The security sector is widely recognised as a fundamental pillar for economic growth and stability, acting as a prerequisite for development, investment, and daily operation. It is therefore important to grow in tandem with the expectations of jobseekers and employers. The partnership will therefore deliver training services to participants and support youth placement through employer linkages and recruitment activities in line with current security sector job placement needs.”

Beyond individual placements, the initiative aims to improve work readiness training and strengthen the quality of outcomes through verified placements.

Organisers say this would help businesses achieve crisis preparedness while boosting youth employment.

Through Gen-Kazi, BrighterMonday is positioning the security sector as a key contributor to job creation and professional growth in Kenya. The program advances a broader workforce readiness agenda by linking training directly to market demand.

Ms Kimani emphasized that secure business environments are essential for sustained employment growth, particularly for young Kenyans entering the job market.

“Our collaboration will ensure that we guide the Kenyan economy in creating secure environments that promote business continuit to create employment opportunities among young Kenyans.”

The partnership comes as private firms and public institutions increasingly outsource or restructure corporate security functions, citing cyber threats, supply chain risks, and operational disruptions. Industry players have flagged a skills gap in intelligence analysis, risk management, and tech-enabled security roles — gaps the program intends to address.

By leveraging BrighterMonday’s recruitment platform and the Mastercard Foundation’s investment in youth skilling, the collaboration will connect vetted, trained candidates to security associations and corporate employers seeking talent.

The Gen-Kazi program continues to tackle youth unemployment by combining digital upskilling, soft-skills training, and structured employer engagement.

With security identified as a growth sector, stakeholders expect the model to create a pipeline of job-ready professionals while enhancing the sector’s leadership capacity.