Institutional Factors Influencing the Effective Implementation of Youth Unemployment Intervention Programmes in Nakuru County, Kenya
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Date
2022
Authors
Omukhango, Mary
Etyang, Martin N.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Global Press Hub
Abstract
Globally, youth population is growing and the
challenges the youth face are growing in tandem
over the years. However, the present job market
has proved difficult and not easy to penetrate
among the youths due to lack of job openings
among many employers. According to ILO [1]
report youth unemployment rate was 11.8
percent in both 2018 and 2019, with more than
59 million youth worldwide jobless in both years.
Many more were struggling with non-profitable
businesses and deplorable working conditions.
The economic future foundation of a country’s
population is the youth. The security of a nation
and the pace of development are defined by the
energy, innovation, orientation and character of
its youth [2-6]. However globally over the years,
the Youth challenges have been growing,
National Youth Policy, (2007). In 2007, Kenyans
30 years of age and below constituted about 75
percent of the total population. This formed the
largest source of human resources. Despite this,
they were still on the sidelines of the nation's
affairs and had been left out from structuring,
planning and actualizing projects and policies
that influenced their livelihoods, National Youth
Policy, (2007).
Even though Kenyan's population was growing
by one million people annually in the period
between 1979 and 2009, its population growth
rate had dropped from 3.8 percent in 1979, 3.3 in
1989 and to 2.9 in 2009. The high population
growth rate of the previous years brought about
the present youth bulge UNDP report, (2013).
According to the Kenyan Population Census,
2019 results the current youth Population (aged
between 18 and 35 years) is 14,539,383 which
includes 6,992,606, Male youth, 7,546,180
females and 597 Intersex youth, Kenya
Population and Housing Census, Volume III [7].
Over the years, Kenya has experimented with
different youth employment policies and
intervention programmes. Between 1963 and
2013, 17 policy measures and programmes were
implemented nationally at one point or another,
with job creation as the main goal. Regardless of
this huge number of unemployment intervention
programmes, there was some continuity that is
10 of the 17 measures was a constant in the
entire period’s menu of policy UNDP, (2013).
In Kenya, like in the rest of the world, the
government has made efforts to deal with youth
problems of unemployment and youth
empowerment. The Government of Kenya (GOK)
has made efforts to start youth development
programmes via policy documents like Sessional
Paper Number 4 of 2005, Sessional Paper
Number 2 of 1992 on Jua Kali Enterprises and
Small Scale businesses, Development Plan
(1997-2001), the Poverty Eradication Plan (1999-
2015) and introduction of the Youth Enterprise
Development Funds in 2005 among other
affirmative funds, Youth Enterprise Development
Fund Status report, (2009), revamping of Youth
polytechnics in 2007, ‘Kazi Kwa Vijana’ (KKV)
world bank initiative launched in 2009 that
targeted employment for 200,000 to 300,000
youths each year in urban and rural areas in
projects that entail government funded works and
are labour-intensive Republic of Kenya, (2010)
and the Kenya Youth Empowerment Programme
(KYEP) launched in July 2010 aimed at
strengthening the KKV by provision of youth
training and internships and enhancement of the
capacities of youth officers UNDP, (2013). The
UWEZO fund scheme of 2013, the National
Youth Service (NYS) Youth empowerment
programme, 2015 and the Kenya Youth
Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP),
2018 are among the latest intervention
programmes toward curbing youth
unemployment. However, these interventions
seem to have had minimal impact on the state of
youth unemployment.
This study used Youth Enterprise Development
Fund (YEDF) and Uwezo fund which have
received the largest youth funding and which
were proposed for a merger to form the Biashara
Fund by the treasury in the financial year in the
2018/2019 budget Budget of Kenya, (2019).
Description
article
Keywords
Institutional factors, effective implementation, youth unemployment interventions programmes
Citation
Omukhango, M., & Etyang, M. N. (2022). Institutional Factors Influencing the Effective Implementation of Youth Unemployment Intervention Programmes in Nakuru County, Kenya. Asian Journal of Economics, Finance and Management, 4(1), 123–131. Retrieved from https://globalpresshub.com/index.php/AJEFM/article/view/1474