Am a student at UoN doing a bachelor of Economics.Wanted advice from you guys on which are the best papers to serve me well and upgrade my CV.Been thinkig about CPA,ICDL,a Diploma in Business MAnagement by the next four years before i go out to the job market.Am i on the right track.YOur advice will be deeply appreciated.

Wanakenya wenzangu, papers are good but do we ever consider adding the knowledge too? Ama ni makaratasi tu?

If you are doing B.A Economics, please make sure you at least do Accounting. What I know is that most economists are currently working in Finance jobs. And in Kenya there are no clear job tailor made for economists, only at the Min. of Planning and Central Bank. To work in Research firms like KIPPRA and IPAR you at least need a Masters in Econs or PhD. Therefore, your chances are abit limited. But you can work in commercial banks, and it will be a plus if you have accounting background. Do CPA or ACCA and you will never be wrong, and its better if you start while you are student. Also you can do your analysis, check newspapers Nation or Standard and see the most advertised jobs.
Hope I have not confused you.

Do cpa or ccp or both.the only diff wit the two is 5 subjects.the best thing with crdt mgt is if u somea kscm, that director wil huk u up na jobo.

dolas- It all depends on what u wd be interested in doing for a career- diversification of your qualifications may be good but u also need to be focussed in pursuing those qualifications.

If u have interest in accountancy, I would prefer that u pursue ACCA instead of CPA. Accountancy is still a marketable professionally globally but there are currently too many CPAs in Kenya. ACCA is more expensive than CPA but if u can afford, it may pay off and gives u more flexibility of taking up international openings

One of the most disgusting trait displayed by most newly graduated employement seekers is their pathetic inability to express themselves in the english language, both in conversation and in writing.

Again, many are the good projects rejected just because certain project managers have been unable to write coherent reports and memoranda, again in english.

In view of the foregoing, I would strongly urge that you enroll in a business english tutorial, especially those taken at the British Council and also, make it a habit to listen to English oriented Frequency Modulation Stations, my strong recommendation being the World Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

One other thing, could you rewrite your posts on this topic in proper english? Indulge me please.

Best wishes in studies.

You need to appreciate the needed mix in paper qualification and actual knowledge and skills gathered from schooling.

Papers will get you the job but the skills will get you moving up the professional ladder.

@ dolas credit management was introduced like 10yrs ago its examined b kasneb ,with the harmonization of syllabus by kasneb its at per with CPA ,ITS CURRENTLY known as certified credit proffessional (CCP),so scrap the name credit management out to CCP(K).the course is being offered by kscm and also star college

I second Rahatupu and bird_man here! You need skills to back up the papers you are after!

I would also recommend ACCA rather than CPA. CPA will restrict you to Kenya, thus CPA (K). If you intend to practice accountancy elsewhere in the world, ACCA is the certification for you.

You will never get a course that will secure you a managerial job. Managers grow into their roles and not taught in class!

There has been a lot of interest lately in Risk Management and Compliance! Every financial institution today has a department dedicated to that particular function. Contact KIA for details!

I think by now you have picked a few nuggets of advice from the replies given so far. My view is that while papers are important, many graduates fail to enter the job market for several reasons and some have already been mentioned by the various contributors:

i) Papers without evidence of practical skills
ii) Attitude
iii) Holding out for the dream job
iv) Wasting holidays and those breaks which come courtesy of strikes.

My story:

When I was in 2nd year doing a BSc in Comp Science, I volunteered at the campus laboratory and learnt a few lessons on the practical side of computer networking, OS installations, formatting disks, basic maintenance, user support etc. I also gained an appreciation of what a job entails: accountability, results and focus. A family friend ignited this spark for starting out early when he asked me: When everybody in your class gets that undergraduate degree, what will make you stand out.

As soon as I graduated, I got a job as a user support analyst. Not exactly the job I wanted but I did it for 1 year. An opportunity came in the form of a project administrator in an ERP project spanning Africa and Middle East. I took it. I started out doing mostly clerical work and being everybody’s PA - do this, type that, take this to that office, call Steers for dinner, file this and so on. As I demonstrated willingness to learn, I was given more serious tasks: do the weekly status report, take the Steering Committees minutes, coordinate this teleconference, do a post implementation review of this project phase etc. After 2 years, having gained a skills in project management, risk analysis, team coordination etc I was able to get a job with a leading company in Kenya as an analyst.

And now, 2.5 years later, I head a department in the same company. I can't complain about the exciting challenges that this job gives me and the money is not exactly bad :)

I had few papers to talk about in all these starting moves mostly because finances were not really my strong point. It is only now that I have felt the need to go back to school for a masters degree.

People could argue I was lucky but far from it, I believe employers are just looking for a person with focus for results, good interpersonal skills and one who demonstrates that no matter how menial the task, the person does it meticulously. When you have gained enough experience, you can make demands, angle for the best job etc.

If your financial condition can cater for a few more papers, by all means go for them.I am not disputing the value of papers but start off even without them. It is never too early.

Even better, do you have an entrepreneurial side? Start thinking of what you can bring to the economy either in terms of goods or services that nobody else can do.

My two cents.