From classroom to career: building ICT talent pathways between Kenya and Estonia

Author: Emily Mirelle Vutt

Kenya is one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital economies, where one of the biggest challenges is the gap between academic education and the actual expectations of the job market. Although universities are producing more ICT specialists than ever before, they lack practical skills, resulting in an unemployment rate of as high as 25–35 percent among young people with bachelor’s degrees in ICT. Ensuring a smooth transition from education to the labor market has therefore become a challenge for universities, businesses, and policymakers alike. 

Addressing this challenge is at the heart of the EU-funded Digital Explorers II programme, which is an ICT-focused knowledge and talent exchange initiative between the Baltics and Kenya, Armenia and Nigeria. It connects universities, companies and public institutions in Estonia and Kenya to strengthen digital skills, foster knowledge exchange and build long-term partnerships. 

A gap analysis conducted by Tallinn University of Technology examined how IT education and curricula align with labor market expectations in Estonia, Kenya, Armenia, and Nigeria. The study focused primarily on Kenya, making specific recommendations for modernizing IT curricula and practices at Kenyan universities. 

From education to employment

As the IT sector is developing faster and keeping up with it is an equally big challenge for universities in Kenya and Estonia, the solution is close cooperation with companies, where students can solve practical tasks and simultaneously acquire skills such as teamwork and problem-solving skills. Kenyan IT curricula are often theoretical, there is a lack of qualified teachers and hardware.

In addition, since an exceptionally large generation is entering the labor market in Africa, the problem is structural. Kenyan students are already world-class, entrepreneurs who supervised Digital Explorers students in Estonia admitted. Therefore, the solution is not just better education, which would only increase competition. The GAP analysis emphasizes that it is important for Kenyan youth to become employers for themselves and their peers, which is why internships in companies are especially important.

The analysis finds that the challenge is not simply producing more ICT graduates, but ensuring they are equipped for the realities of an evolving digital economy. Across all four countries, employers consistently highlighted the importance of practical experience, project-based learning and professional skills alongside technical knowledge. While university curricula provide strong theoretical foundations, graduates often need greater exposure to real-world problem-solving, teamwork and industry practices before entering the workforce. 

While presenting the findings, Tallinn University of Technology Researcher Voldemar Tomusk noted that the discussion should move beyond graduate numbers to focus on graduate readiness. “The challenge is not only to produce more ICT graduates, but to ensure that public investment leads to genuinely employable, industry-ready talent,” he said.

The findings also point to the importance of closer collaboration between universities and employers, more project-based learning, regular curriculum updates and stronger recognition of practical skills gained through internships, bootcamps and other learning opportunities.

As Dr John Kandiri from the Department of Computing and Information Science at Kenyatta University noted during the event, "Kenya has the talent. The task now is to build the systems, in education, in industry and in policy, that allow that talent to develop and stay."

His message reflected one of the report's central conclusions: developing digital talent requires coordinated action across the entire education ecosystem.

Digital Explorers 2 closing ceremony at Kenya's Kenyatta University on 30.06.2026. Photos: ESTDEV.

Learning by solving real challenges

For the programme's participants, those connections become tangible through internships in Estonian organisations, where they work on real assignments with real users.

Leon Kimemia Nduati completed his placement at the Institute of Baltic Studies, where he helped redesign a complex handbook for prison inmates into an accessible digital platform.

"Estonia is the blueprint. We came to see what a finished system looks like, so we know what we're actually building toward," he said.

Beyond the technical work, Nduati described learning structured development processes, quality assurance and collaborative ways of working that could be applied in future projects back home.

At PoCo Museum in Tallinn, Vera Nyagaka worked with her team to develop a personalised audio guide for visitors. The project involved conducting user research, designing the solution, testing prototypes and refining the final product based on feedback.

"We got to use the technical skills we already got at school and apply them to a real-world problem that we were facing. As soon as we thought we were ready, we immediately went into testing and implemented it all around the museum," Nyagaka said.

Christine Nyaga, who completed her internship at an adult retraining centre, highlighted another important aspect of the programme: being trusted to contribute from day one.

"I didn't feel like a student placed somewhere to learn quietly. I felt like someone whose ideas mattered, and they proved it by using them," she said.

Across the different placements, participants consistently described gaining not only stronger technical skills, but also greater confidence, communication skills and experience working with multidisciplinary teams, competencies that employers increasingly value alongside formal qualifications.

Partnerships that strengthen digital ecosystems

The Digital Explorers programme creates opportunities for individual participants as well as the institutions involved.  As Olga Bogdanova, ESTDEV’s regional advisor for Africa, noted during the event: "Estonian institutions gained access to motivated, highly skilled young professionals, who in return gained knowledge, networks and confidence to apply their professional skills in very concrete workplaces. The benefits flow in both directions."

Several interns have returned to Kenya to join local companies, establish businesses or pursue further studies. At the same time, the programme has strengthened cooperation between universities, employers and public institutions, helping bring ICT education closer to the realities of today's labour market. These experiences are already informing discussions on curriculum development and strengthening collaboration between academia and industry.

Digital Explorers II is the first joint Baltic development cooperation project implemented by the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), Latvia’s Startin.LV, and OSMOS in Lithuania. The project is co-funded by the European Union via the Migration Partnership Facility of ICMPD.