What are the best courses to study in Kenya? – This is a common question among parents and students alike.
To help clear the air, in this guide, I will tell you about some of these good courses that you (or your child) can pursue.
Towards the end of this guide, I will also tell you of some good certificate courses that you can do even with a D+ in KCSE.
What are the best courses to study in Kenya?
Just so you know, these courses stand out from the rest due to their marketability and good salaries.
1. ICT courses
Today, we have integrated technology into almost all sectors of our lives from education to health to entertainment among others.
In turn, this has led to the demand for IT professionals from diverse fields such as cybersecurity, software engineering, digital marketing, graphic design, etc.
And, the demand for these professionals will only continue to increase as technology continues to advance and enter even in the informal sectors such as agriculture.
This makes ICT courses to be among the best courses for anyone to study in Kenya right now.
Just so you know, with an IT course and a good portfolio, it’s quite easy to get a job.
2. Engineering courses
The increased adoption of technology in various sectors of our lives has resulted in most of these sectors replacing human labor with machines as they are more efficient.
Not forgetting the numerous infrastructural projects – both in private and public sectors – that are being carried out, especially by county and national governments.
Now, all these projects and machines require engineers to make, operate, and service them.
Not to mention that almost all of the projects require different types of engineers to foresee and manage them.
This is why we still believe that engineering will still be an excellent course to study for the foreseeable future.
3. Medical courses
Truth be told, people will always get sick at some point in their lives.
Not to mention that there has been an increase in the number of lifestyle diseases which necessitates the need for more medical professionals.
And as the population continues to increase, so will the number of sick people.
That said, the best medical courses to study in Kenya include nursing, dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, pharmaceutical technology, and healthcare assistant.
If you intend on going to work abroad, I would greatly recommend nursing or healthcare assistance courses – their demand abroad is quite high.
4. Sales & marketing
If you are good at interacting with people and persuading them, then this might be a good course for you.
You see, most businesses and companies have one thing in common – how to increase their sales.
This results in a high demand for good salespersons and marketers thereby making the course to be among the best courses to study in Kenya.
Just so you know, excellent salespeople and marketers are among the best paid employees in most big organizations.
5. Law courses
While law careers have been there since time immemorial, they will continue to be there for the foreseeable future.
You see, businesses and humans will always be in disagreement with each other.
This necessitates for law professionals for advice and legal representation hence the high demand for lawyers.
To that end, this course can be an excellent choice if you are good at persuading others to take your side.
Now, to be successful as a law practitioner, you will need to choose one area of specialization and be good at it.
This is because there are more than a dozen types of lawyers including family, constitutional, intellectual property, bankruptcy, criminal, and tax lawyers.
6. PGDE and TVET training courses
Unlike the other courses in this guide, these are the only courses that do not offer an opportunity for self-employment.
However, these courses are a good choice for graduates who are yet to land a job and wish to transition into the education sector.
Currently, the national and county governments are building numerous TVETs to instill youths with hands-on skills that can help them transition into self-employment.
And, this has led to big demand for TVET trainers.
Currently, there are over 2,400 accredited public and private TVETs and the number is growing by the day.
So, if you have a diploma/degree and you’re yet to get a job, you can try going this route.
Which is the best certificate course in Kenya?
While most of the above are regular diploma/degree courses, there are also some good professional certificates that you can take.
The good thing about these certificate courses is that you can use them to upskill or transition into a new career.
1. Data Science
This certificate course is good for someone who has a strong background in IT or mathematics-related courses.
Once referred to as the sexiest job of the 201st century, data science involves using computers to unlock valuable insights from vast amounts of unstructured data.
The demand for data scientists is on the rise and it will only continue to rise as companies continue discovering how valuable data is.
2. Digital marketing
Digital marketing is a 3-month certificate course that teaches you how to promote businesses and brands using digital media.
This includes through email marketing, social media marketing, SEO, and PPC Ads among others.
While not many universities offer the course, there are many good digital marketing colleges that you can enroll at.
3. Software engineering
Software engineering courses train you how to create applications for various operating systems such as Windows, Android, iOS, etc.
In addition, most software engineering courses also have a full-stack website development module.
In this module, you will learn how to create and manage websites.
Now, while some colleges and universities offer a diploma/degree in software engineering, there are institutions that offer a specialized certificate in software engineering…
While the certificate course is shorter (usually 1 year or less), the curriculum is the same.
4. Machine learning and artificial intelligence
This is a good certificate course for you if you have a strong background in mathematics more so in statistics and calculus.
Machine learning enables you to use computer algorithms to identify patterns and trends in data sets.
This can be desirable in areas where predictive analytics are required such as in fraud detection in banks, recommendation systems, algorithmic trading, etc.
On the other hand, artificial intelligence systems enable you to train computers to reason like humans (if not better).
Some good areas you can use AI systems include algorithmic trading, medical imaging analysis, self-driving vehicles among others.
To be honest, this is the next big thing in technology.
And, if you have a certificate in artificial intelligence and machine learning, you’ll be a hotcake in the market.
5. Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity deals with protecting computer systems from cybercriminals such as hackers.
There are several professional cybersecurity courses you can study at the certificate level.
Usually, these courses specialize in one area of cybersecurity such as network security, IoT security, or web applications security.
This is because the world of cybersecurity is also vast and at times, having a specialty area is a plus.
6. Graphic design
A certificate in graphics design can open numerous doors for you both in the formal and informal sectors.
Currently, there’s a big demand for full-time inhouse graphic designers by companies.
In addition, a good graphic design course also opens doors for self-employment as a branding agency.
Not, to mention that you can freelance your skills online.
In short, you can rarely lack work with this course.
Final words on what the best courses to study in Kenya are
If you are looking to upskill or change careers, then taking a certificate course is one of the best ways to do it.
To this end, at Kenya Online College, we offer professional certificate courses in fields such as digital marketing, cybersecurity, software engineering, and graphic design among others.
You can see all our courses here.
If you’re a busy professional, you do not have to worry about classes since we also offer online classes.
For enquiries, WhatsApp/call our admissions office on 0797 532 345.
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Marketable diploma courses in Kenya
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Patrick is a digital marketer and web designer by profession but on the side, he talks about how to use skills to make money online. He studied Applied Statistics at the university. He’s also an avid reader and digital skills trainer. Have any questions? Connect with him on LinkedIn.