Kenya is at a strategic position to leverage the rise in digital talent needs. BrighterMonday is calling for reskilling as AI and digital transformation continues to disrupt the job market.
The world of work is undergoing a seismic shift driven by the growth of the digital economy, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI), and Kenya is at the heart of this transformation. BrighterMonday’s new data and insights at the 2025 HR Smart Lab that underscores both an urgent challenge and an unprecedented opportunity for Kenya’s youth and employers alike.
According to global labour market trends presented during the event, Africa is poised to become the world’s largest contributor to the working-age population by 2050, with a net increase of 740 million people. In Kenya alone, 800,000 new job seekers enter the market annually, most of them young, while job creation struggles to keep pace. The Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reports that 2.97 million Kenyans remain unemployed, with over half of them aged between 20 and 29 years.
“We’re riding a massive digital wave that is redefining what it means to be employable. The key question is not just about job availability, but whether our skills match the demand,” said Sarah Ndegwa, Acting Managing Director, BrighterMonday Kenya.
BrighterMonday’s proprietary data from over 1.3 million candidate profiles and 70,000+ employers in Kenya reveals a growing mismatch between the skills job seekers possess and what employers are looking for.
An analysis of the most applied-to roles on BrighterMonday showed that 65% of hard skills listed can be automated or augmented by AI, while 20% of soft skills are also vulnerable to automation. This highlights the pressing need for human-centric, AI-complementary skills such as emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and strategic thinking.
Across Africa, 100% of organisations surveyed by SAP in the 2025 “AI Skilled Readiness” report have seen a spike in tech skills demand.
In Kenya:
- 43% of companies reported a significant increase in demand for AI-related skills.
- 86% of businesses identified cybersecurity as their top skills gap.
- 79% of employers flagged cloud computing as a critical area of need.
These gaps persist even as remote work and digital transformation unlock new pathways for Kenyan talent. A recent report by Breedj found that 64% of firms in Sub-Saharan Africa are relying on digitalisation to drive job growth, offering new hope for young people with the right training.
From fintech to e-commerce, and from manufacturing to renewable energy, Kenya’s digital transformation is accelerating. However, the talent pipeline must evolve just as rapidly. This is a national competitiveness issue. With the right digital skills, Kenya can become a global hub for remote work, outsourcing, and innovation. Without reskilling, Kenya’s workforce risk falling behind.
“The demand for tech and digital skills has widened the gap between what employers need and the skills the youth have. GenerationKazi is working to bridge this gap by provisioning Kenyan youth with access to the tools and skills they need to thrive in a fast-changing job market,” Hilda Kabushenga, CEO, The African Talent Company.
Key roles in high demand include software developers, data analysts, cybersecurity specialists, and AI integration experts.
BrighterMonday is urging HR leaders, government agencies, educational institutions, and private sector players to collaborate in developing large-scale reskilling programs. This can include:
- AI-resilient skills: strategic thinking, communication, negotiation, and emotional intelligence.
- Digital-first capabilities: software development, cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud technologies.
- Lifelong learning: building adaptive learning ecosystems to keep pace with future shifts.
