- The government's perpetual chore is to help sharpen young people's skills to overcome the problems created by the structural changes in the economy.
- Yet the necessity to create more jobs to meet the demands of national development policy and the new technological revolution cannot be overstated.
The youth unemployment rate has been rising relatively faster since Covid-19. And calls for the youth to improve their skills to meet the demand of employers to get suitable jobs is on the rise.
Statistics indicate that yearly, approximately 1.1 million people graduate from universities. Similarly, the number of returnees from foreign universities seeking jobs has been rising steadily. There are thousands of graduates who have not secured jobs in the past couple of years, hence increasing pressure on the labor market.
That job creation has not kept pace with economic recovery is evident and measures should be taken to help young people improve their skills so they can get employment.
Structural modifications in the economy have equally resulted in significant job losses in the modern service industry, like entertainment, tourism and real estate, where jobs for young people are concentrated.
Structural unemployment, caused by industrial reorganisation and technological advancement remains a long-term problem; and human capital can depreciate faster amid rapid technological development in economic structure rendering many citizens jobless.
If the education system does not adjust to the economic structural changes, our unemployment problem may become terminal trouble.
The existing system of skills training and certification cannot meet the demand of the labour market where modern technologies and new forms of businesses sprout. It is therefore crucial for workers to undergo retraining to conform to the varying technologies and industrial transformation.
The government's perpetual chore is to help sharpen young people's skills to overcome the problems created by the structural changes in the country's economy.
Yet the necessity to create more jobs to meet the demands of national development policy and the new technological revolution cannot be overstated.
It is necessary to build an employment cushion zone while installing human capital concentration system, for which different government must establish a service system for graduates, in order to help them meet the labour market demand.
In this context, training centres and vocational colleges should provide opportunities for people to go back to studies in order to enhance their knowledge and hone their skills or learn new ones, so that they can improve their value in the labour market.
It is equally paramount to deal with the challenges, with the help of market forces, on both the demand and supply sides. Though there is inadequate institutions tendering part-time training, enterprises requires people that are highly skilful and knowledgeable. It is high time to permit qualified, reputable enterprises to involve in training youths so job-seekers can get the job of their liking and, in return, employers can recruit the talents they need.
Furthermore, the government ought to impose favourable policies to help youths launch their own businesses and extend employment projects to the grassroots level to encourage youths to start their own business in their hometown.
The government should share information to citizens on available job vacancies in public sector and state-managed enterprises, create more jobs in the fields of education and scientific research and encourage scientific research institutions to hire college graduates to work as research assistants.
Finally, the high-notch design for higher education should be changed and modern syllabus and curriculum devised to meet the needs of development in the future and to improve education in the country.
National organising secretary, Ford Kenya