KIPPRA, in collaboration with Partnerships for Economic Policy (PEP) and Master Card Foundation (MCF) held a national conference on 22nd November to present the findings of a research on “empirical review of youth employment policies in Kenya and interventions towards addressing youth unemployment: what works?”
The forum was held through a blended physical and virtual platform, which brought together policymakers, civil society, public sector, private sector and other stakeholders within the country and in the region.
Some of the findings indicated that majority of the youth are unemployed and are outside the labor force while most of those employed are engaged in poor quality jobs characterized by low productivity and inadequate earning. The research also found that most youth programmes are implemented by the National government, for example KYEOP and Kazi Mtaani and that there was disparity in access to information, especially between rural and urban areas.
The stakeholders gave various recommendations, including that KIPPRA should play a key role in in the implementation of the youth employment policies; that the youth ought to be involved in in all stages in the development of the policies and peer-to-peer learning from other counties for best practices to be encouraged. The dissemination forum provided a platform that maximized research uptake and informed relevant policy debate. This is timely as the youth in Kenya are facing unemployment challenges.
Other speakers during the event included Mr Michael Murigi, Monitoring and Evaluation Lead, PEP, who represented Executive Director Prof Jane Mariara; and Ms Margaret Kiogora, Ag. Chief Executive Officer, National Youth Council.
