Radio Africa Group Editorial Director Paul Ilado has challenged graduates to move beyond the traditional search for employment and use their skills to create opportunities in an increasingly digital economy.
Ilado said the changing media landscape would not provide conventional newsroom jobs for everyone entering the profession, urging graduates to become innovators, entrepreneurs and creators of new opportunities.
Addressing 498 graduands at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC), Ilado said digital transformation was opening up new possibilities for those willing to experiment, take risks and develop relevant skills.
“You may not all get employed in our current media houses, but you have the skill and equipment to be able to be creative and deliver something meaningful in your life,” he said.
He challenged the graduates to turn their training into income-generating ventures instead of waiting for established media organisations to absorb them.
“Use your creativity. Use your creativity to earn an honest, sustainable income,” he said.
Ilado said the future would belong to professionals who recognised that their initial qualifications were only a starting point and remained willing to adapt as technology and industry demands evolved.
He urged them to pursue further training, acquire new competencies and take calculated risks to position themselves for emerging opportunities.
“You have to keep learning. You have to keep acquiring new skills. You have to possibly go back and acquire new degrees, and you have to keep taking risks,” he said.
He noted that digital transformation would create new opportunities across the media industry but warned that graduates without relevant skills and the willingness to adapt could struggle to remain competitive.
Ilado said the country needed young people to develop solutions to challenges facing the media industry rather than wait for existing players to provide all the answers.
“Many of our current challenges are unprecedented. There are no remedies, and there are no quick fixes. This is where your country calls on you. This is where your country needs your help, class of 2026,” he said.
He called on the graduates to use their energy, imagination and creativity to develop new approaches that would shape the future of media in Kenya.
“We need you, young people, to create solutions that will drive the media industry in the years to come. We need your enthusiasm. We need your energy. We need your imagination,” he said.
To illustrate the opportunities available, Ilado challenged graduates trained in different disciplines to pursue excellence and become leading practitioners in their respective fields.
He singled out students who had studied production, engineering and journalism, urging them to set ambitious professional targets rather than limit themselves to existing industry standards.
Ilado also cautioned graduates against becoming comfortable with early achievements, saying professional growth required continuous effort and a willingness to go beyond previous accomplishments.
He said an individual's body of work was never complete but continued to grow through daily contributions to communities and the country.
KIMC Chief Executive Officer Peter Wakoli said the institution had been reviewing its curriculum to prepare students for emerging opportunities in the digital superhighway and creative economy.
Wakoli said the 2026 cohort had demonstrated its capabilities through multimedia storytelling, artificial intelligence-assisted content creation and independently operated digital platforms.
He described the graduates as job-ready, innovative and adaptable, saying their training had prepared them for the changing demands of the media industry.
ICT Authority Chief Executive Jessy Maruti also welcomed the graduates, saying their skills would contribute to improving how Kenya's stories are told.
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