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It is said, that before..., whatever you do, you must do it with passion. I would like
to believe that all of you are here because you are passionate about what you are currently
doing. If you are not passionate, youíll tend to be mediocre with whatever you do.
As we said, my name is Robert Yawe. I am a Project Creator. I basically create projects
that you people will want to provide services to. Right?
I would like to ask you a question first. Do you feel that having passed, when you finally
finish college, that you actually have an Entitlement for Employment? Or do you believe
that you are supposed to go out there and create employment?
Thatís the dilemma we want to discuss today with you, on these issues.
Now, if you believe you are entitled to have a job, who do you believe is supposed to give
you that job? The government? The Reginaldís of this world? The Omondiís of this world?
And what makes you believe that entitlement is actually yours and not anybody elseís?
I will start off by giving you an example of two professionals who passed through this
department many years ago. One of them was a civil engineer, went by
the name of Engineer Owidi. Some of you might know him; he was once a member of parliament.
And I remember sitting down with Engineer Owidi about 10 years ago and he was telling
me about when he graduated from the University, in the late ë70ís, he already had three
job opportunities.., three job appointments. One from the Ministry of Public Works, one
from the City Council and one from a private engineering firm.
So as Owidi walked out of the University, after graduation, he had a choice of three
different jobs. He started off at the City Council. He worked
for a short while. He then moved to Molem, he then moved to the Ministry of Public Works,
during which time he was able to get his registration as an Engineer.
Three months after being registered as an Engineer, Owidi went to the Post Office, and
he found a letter. He had just been appointed The Resident Engineer for a project to build
Afya Centre. Those of you who know Globe Cinema, there is an Afya Centre Building.
He never applied. He never..., he didnít even know where the project was. All he got
was a letter that he has been appointed as the Consulting Engineer for the project.
I met Owidi as he was doing a project for me.
Together with Owidi was an architect called George Angahia. They graduated around the
same time. And even George, as he left the ADD block for the last time, had three job
options. So he walked to Symbion Architects where he
worked for a short while. He then moved to a company called Nyaseme, which is the company
that built NSSF, for those of you who keep up refs.
Today, George runs a one manís practice. He has two employees. One Trainee Architect
and a receptionist. These two people, tell you about what happens
when you have an ìEntitlementî. In the ë70ís those of you who can go home
and ask your parents, the A Level results used to be printed in the newspaper, because
they were that few number of people. The number of graduates from the university were even
fewer. In George Angahiaís class, there were 5 doing
architecture. Those who graduated were only five.
And you get to wonder, why is it that they had such great opportunities, but yet, they
would never get to a position where they would be able to create an opportunity for you people
to join their practices. Owidi passed away few years ago; he didnít
leave behind an Engineering practice. His practice consisted of three people: Me, myself
and I. Those were the three partners in his practice. So when Owidi went, so did his practice.
So many of you are sitting here and wondering where will you get work when you leave.
As professionals, it is essential that you start looking at the business side of where
you fit in. How many of you have been down to the construction
sites, somewhere near Museum Hill? I believe it is actually within the University grounds.
How many of you have been there? None? So where do you think your jobs are coming
from? Who knows who is doing the project there or even what is going on? Anyone, show of
hands. You want to tell me, none of you here who are involved in the built environment
are interested in knowing what is happening that concerns construction? You know?
Speaker from audience: (INAUDIBLE 00:06:23.5) Robert Yawe: You could have talked to the
Dean to find out what is happening on your grounds. Youíve been known to cause pandemonium
for much less. What Iím trying to tell you is, unless you
get to understand where you fit into, the built environment profession, outside the
borders of the university, then most of you shall be very frustrated, the day you graduate.
Because you will have been struck so hard by the reality out there, you might never
recover. There are many who have passed through and
if you know Aga Khan Walk in town..., do you know what itís called? Whatís the nickname
to Aga Khan Walk? Graduates Corner, where people with Engineering Degrees, Architecture
Degrees, Land Economics Degrees, sit and await for their entitlement to receive jobs from
the government. How many of you know what the retirement age
is now for the government. So which means what? If there is a fellow who was retiring
this year, he will retire when? In five years time more? Isnít it? So which means, if you
graduate this year and that job was supposed to be yours, you will have to wait how long?
So what do you do for the five years, while you are out there? Have you thought of the
impact of some of these decisions? I would like us to try an exercise. Letís
close our eyes. Just close your eyes. Imagine you are Beckham. Iím sure most of
you are football fans. Youíve had a beautiful career so far. Itís a major tournament, but
you are not starting in the first 11. There is a new, younger, more energetic, more effective
player on the pitch. Open your eyes. You are that player who has got Beckham benched. What
do you think is going through Beckhamís mind. If he had a chance to get rid of you, what
do you think he would do? Get rid of you or not?
Speakers from Audience: (INAUDIBLE 00:08:56:7) Robert Yawe: Most of you are going out into
the industry. The day you get registered you become direct competitors to Reginald and
to Omondi. You have certain other advantages. You are
younger, you are better skilled and you are cheaper.
Do you expect him to step aside and let you through? They are not going to.
So many of you have to think about the challenge you are going out into. You are going to face
solid walls. Now, unless you arm yourself while you are here. Unless you understand
what your profession is like out there, I can assure you, we shall discuss in five years
time, and most of you shall be totally disoriented and the person you will most likely blame
will be the Head of State. We need to be very careful about whatís going to happen as you
leave. Iíd like to ask you, how many of you...,
how much did you make last year for assignments? How many of you were paid for assignments
last year? Was any of you paid to do a class assignment? You are sure? So nobody got paid
for assignments. But if any of you got a small project to do today, what will you insist
on? But you have done assignments for a whole year, no one has asked for pay!
The architecture students will do major projects. I always make sure I pass by every year, during
the grading when you have put up your projects and I see brilliant projects done. But the
worst thing about it, is those projects end here.
You must learn to go out and give your time, initially for no pay. To say you must love
what you do and you must do what you .....love. It is unfortunate that many of you may have
gotten here because you are A students. Not because you wanted to get into the built environment,
but because you were A students, you did your mathematics, you did well in your Physics,
you arrived here and you qualified for certain courses.
How many of you have actually found out what your careers will actually get you to? What
is it that what you study is going to give you out there? How many? Now this is.... this
is..., I hope you are just being shy. That you are going to go through a four-year course,
others will go through a 7 year course, but yet you donít know where you are going to
fit in. Who do you go looking for work for? The Land
Economists, where do go looking for work? The building Economists, where do you go looking
for work? Ministry of Works? (LAUGHTER...)
Construction Engineering? How many of you have worked in a construction site recently?
As what? Store keeper. Somebody behind there...., what did you work as?
Speakers from audience: (INAUDIBLE 00:12:57:2) Robert Yawe: Let me tell you.... I asked you
how many of you were paid for assignments? None.
During your long holiday, go and do an assignment of working at a construction site. Get to
understand what the QS does. What a site engineer does. What a Clerk of Work does.
I would expect some of you to be looking for Reginaldsí to get to understand what a Property
Manager does. What does his day consist of? You need to get that now. So that you donít
get shocked when you walk out of here and you end up becoming a Store man at a construction
site. Because the fellow who runs the store, at the construction site, might be me, and
I donít understand what a Building Economist does. So to the best of my knowledge, Iím
supposed to know what stock sits in the construction site.
Open your eyes. You are very fortunate you are in Nairobi. You have opportunities. Imagine
somebody doing the same course and sitting in Maseno. Youíve got a road going from Athi
River to ....., Thika. Thatís opportunity for all of you.
I wish you could sit down and say that you want to make weekly field trips. And if the
University goes out and tells the Contractor that he wants his students to come by the
site every week, he is not going to refuse. Because, it is essential that you get to understand
what you do. Where are the students who do Medicine right
now? The final yearsí in Medicine, where are they? Kenyatta eh? Where are the final
yearsí here? (LAUGHTER)
Where are the final yearsí? Speakers from audience: They are here.
Robert Yawe: They are here. Not in practice, not applying but theorising and hoping that
when you leave there will be work out there. Learn to give your time for free at times.
The same way you do your assignments is the same way you should go out and do that attachment
project. Donít start asking for allowances. Iím told that at the Polytechnic that it
has become so competitive, students actually pay to get attachment. They donít get paid
to get attachment, I donít think you heard me. They pay to get an attachment. You actually
pay an employer to give you the attachment instead of somebody else, because of two very
serious reasons. One is you know is if you get that attachment
the opportunities of getting a job when you graduate with the same organisation are much
higher. Secondly, without the attachment, you donít
graduate. Thatís how competitive it has become at Polytechnic
level. So I will finish off by telling..., asking
you. Youíve heard of Kazi Kwa Vijana eh? How many of you know about Kazi Kwa Vijana?
How does it benefit professions? Can you see yourself fitting into the Kazi Kwa Vijana
scheme? Why? Can I get an answer, why? Why is it that you donít fit into Kazi Kwa Vijana?
Or what does it entail? Fixing gravel roads, preparing culverts? But isnít that building?
From this point, you have the opportunity to create employment for yourselves.
How many of the Land Economists have tried to find out economically the University of
Nairobi uses its land? Seriously? Have you thought maybe, if you did a research
that this land would be more valuable use for something else and you should be able
to relocate the University of Nairobi to the outskirts?
Why do you believe that it should be where it is?
Kazi Kwa Vijana has a problem because the people making the decisions donít understand
what you people need. Have you heard of the Malili Project? The
Malili Project. The Technology Park. How many of you have? Do you know how many acres it
is? Five Thousand acres, to be built up in the next 20 years. That project alone could
assure all of you work. And you can pull it under what project? Kazi Kwa ....?
But you must be able to come together and go out and tell the government. If you are
going to develop these 5000 acres, we want in! And we want in now!
The Isiolo Resort? How large is the project? You are talking of building an international
airport, a sewer system, power plants, storm water systems, colleges, hospitals..., thatís
where your work is going to come from. But if you leave it for the decision makers up
there to tell you where the work is, they canít. They canít see it.
I do development and it took me a long time to realise the difference between a Quantity
Surveyor and a Clerk of Works and a Valuer and a Project Manager. There is no book written.
For the developer, it was the hard way. The reason I know George Angahia and Engineer
Owidi, was I had a piece of land and I asked them, told them I want to develop it.
They designed me a very complex project. This was an eighth of an acre in Embakasi. If I
show you the design which I still keep in my bedroom, it is a project that should have
come up in Kileleshwa. Neither of them looked at the environment
which I was doing my construction. They didnít understand the relationship between Rental
Income and Cost of Construction. Rental Income and Levels of Finish.
I once asked why we were digging nine and a half feet to extract black cotton and then
refill it with hardcore? I then asked, they said that it is cheaper to do that than to
do a suspended slab. I asked them whatís the difference in price. Neither of them could
give me the price differential. Because neither of them had tried to sit down and look at
the two. Itís only when you are sitting here that
you can do some of those tests, as assignments. At which time does it become more cost effective,
to do a suspended slab as opposed to back-fill and do a normal slab. Iím sure none of you
knows the difference between the two. My person for the built environment means
that I will go out and try and understand. But I am doing what you should be doing. Which
means, by me doing it, then I donít need you. So, you need to get serious, get out
there, and before you leave this place, know where you are going to look for work, if you
are going to look for work. The professional firms in this country have
serious problems because of continuity. Who know what the first architectural, indigenous
architectural firm was? Those in architecture, how many of you know who was the first indigenous
Kenyan to qualify as an architect? Mutiso Menezes.
How many architects does he employ today? Three. When did Mutiso Menezes graduate? 196---?,
196--- something eh? Speaker from audience: Seven.
Robert Yawe: Sixty seven. Between 67 and today, he has only taken on board, three partners.
Three partners in how many years? From when is 1967 to date? So how long would you have
to wait to become a partner at that firm? (LAUGHTER)
Robert Yawe: Okay. So you need to be aware of what is out there. And the reason is, the
fear that, if I take you on as a young professional, soon enough you will be in a position to take
away my business and leave, because the minute you become registered, and you can sign a
drawing, you are my direct competitor, if I am a professional like you.
It is essential that yourselves, build into your systems, that when you go out and put
up practices, for perpetuity. Youíve hear of Hamilton, Harrison and Mathews?
Who is Hamilton? Where does Hamilton live? Hamilton died many years ago, but his firm
continues. You need to understand that when you go out,
do not fear those who will come after you, but learn to work with them to develop them
and to share the cake. And as you go out and you go to work for a practice, those are the
issues you also want to tell the person you work with.
Reginald needs to listen to this also, because, even him, there are only three partners. It
is time they go in another three. Rex, at least there are two young partners
and I hope that, from him also listening, they will be working towards making sure,
that theyíll not only pick you up, when youíre interns, and then drop you immediately you
graduate, because of a fear that you will take over their jobs. Yet they should learn
to take you on board and have you learn to grow the business.
My background is as an accountant. As an accountant. I worked for a company called Peat Marwick.
An audit firm is the only place where your boss tells you to give him his CV, he has
seen a job opportunity somewhere; because there are two kinds of people when you go
into a professional firm. There are the workers and there are the owners.
The owners are the ones who understand that there is more to the practice than just the
profession. There is the social element of going out and
finding work. At some point, you will do most of the design work, but most of the money
will go to another partner. But it is not for you to despair. Itís for you to appreciate
the fact that with time, you will also be able to train somebody else to do the hard
work and you to move out to go and look for the work.
So we hope that this dilemma comes to an end today. Thank you.
(CLAPPING) Speaker 2:
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