E-governance adoption on employment of graduates: a case of selected government institutions, Nairobi County

Abstract

Effects of e-governance adoption in developing countries remains phenomenal, for instance, in Kenya; the government has invested heavily in e-infrastructure seeking to reward value creation, employment generation especially among graduates, and excellent enterprise, but there is no literature to explore the translation of these huge investments in e-infrastructure into long-term socioeconomic development, especially in terms of its contribution to employment creation among graduates. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of e-governance adoption on employment levels of graduates: a case of selected government institutions, Nairobi County. Specifically, the study sought to evaluate and explore the possible contribution of e-governance adoption as an emerging phenomenon on the employment levels of graduates in Kenya with particular interest to essential e-governance aspects such as graduate knowledge on egovernance; e-governance technology; facilitating conditions of e-governance and government measures in enhancing e-governance. This study was anchored in two theories: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and Theory of Change. The study employed descriptive research design. The target population of study was 536 participants including ICT graduates at KNBS, Ministry of ICT, Public Service Commission headquarters, and Ministry of Labour. The sample size of the study was 114 respondents comprising of graduates and their seniors. The respondents were chosen using a stratified random sampling technique by the researcher. Likert questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The drop-and-pick method was used to administer the Likert questionnaires. The study established that adoption of e-governance technology has a significant positive effect on graduate employability and deployability occasioned by the provision of e-infrastructure and affordable data. However, the lack of technologically sound political leadership, motivation and self-efficacy of implementing bureaucrats, impedes the innovative adoption of e-governance that can translate to comprehensive employment creation. The study recommends administrative reforms to align egovernance with vision 2030 through capacity development. Further studies be carried out based on factors and variables other than the ones used in this study which might establish in-depth analysis on the e-governance adoption in relation to employment creation especially among the graduates.