Introduction
Kenya has a large and vibrant youth population, with about 75% of the population aged below 35 years. However, many of these young people face challenges in accessing decent and productive employment opportunities that match their skills and aspirations. This can have negative consequences for their well-being, and for the country’s social, economic, and political development. Therefore, empowering the youth and creating more opportunities for them is pivotal for Kenya’s stability and prosperity.
About 500,000 to 800,000 youth enter the job market each year. However, the economy has not been able to provide the necessary amount of formal and informal employment opportunities. Youth employment in Kenya was 13.35% in 2022.
In the recent past, the country has seen several youth scrambling for limited opportunities provided by organizations. An example is when G4S, a security and courier company in Kenya, advertised for 150 vacancies for package handlers but more than 2,000 youth turned up to compete for the vacancy. Some were turned back because they had not attained the age of 25 years. In another instance, in September 2023, the Kenya Defence Forces announced the recruitment of 350 Specialist Officer Kadets and Tradesmen. Again, more than 3,000 young former National Youth Service graduates flocked the Embakasi Garrison hoping to be recruited. These instances show how much of a crisis unemployment has become in Kenya.
In 2016, the World Bank reported that to address the issue of unemployment among the youth, there is need to create an enabling business environment, promote quality of skills and education and enhance fairer labour regulations to create jobs. In recent years, various initiatives have been implemented by the Government of Kenya and other stakeholders to address the youth employment gap. These initiatives aim to enhance the capacity of youth and improve their skills, promote their employability and promote their entrepreneurship skills.
The objective of this blog is to critically examine the existing youth employment initiatives in Kenya, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and propose alternative policies that can be more responsive to the needs and aspirations of young people. By so doing, the blog contributes to the ongoing discourse on youth employment and provides actionable recommendations for driving positive change.
Evaluating the Current Youth Employment Initiatives and Lessons Learned
Many young people in Kenya aspire to work in the formal sector, which they perceive as more secure and rewarding than the informal sector or self-employment. However, the public sector has limited capacity and high competition to accommodate the growing number of youths entering the labour market.
The government has developed various youth employment initiatives over time aimed at providing skills training, entrepreneurship support, and making the labour market work with online work opportunities and temporary jobs for the urban youth. Among the existing key initiatives are the Kenya Youth Employment Opportunities Project (KYEOP), Ajira Digital Programme, Uwezo Fund, Kazi Mtaani, government internship programmes such the one provided by Public Service Commission (PSC), among others. There are some initiatives that were started a while back and others still exist, such as the National Youth Service, Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (KYEP), Youth Employment Scheme Abroad (YESA), Kazi Kwa Vijana and Women Enterprise Fund (WEF). Table 1 below summarizes some of the key features and objectives of these initiatives.
Table 1: Overview of some of the youth employment initiatives in Kenya
| Type | Initiative | Objective |
| Labour market opportunities | Ajira Digital Programme | To provide online work opportunities and skills training for the youth. It equips youth with skills such as digital marketing, graphic design and web development |
| Skill development and comprehensive training | KYEOP, PSC internship, NYS | To enhance the professional development of young people and prepare them for the labour market, to expose them to technical skills that are pivotal both in the formal and informal sector |
| Entrepreneurship | YEDF, Uwezo fund, Youth fund | To provide grants and mentorship for youth groups engaged in income-generating activities |
| Short term initiatives | Kazi Mtaani, Kazi kwa vijana | To provide temporary employment and community service for the youth in urban informal settlements |
Kazi Mtaani Initiative
Kazi Mtaani was launched in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative provided temporary jobs for urban youth in public works such as cleaning, garbage collection, and fumigation. It was implemented by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development in partnership with County governments and local administrators. Kazi Mtaani offered a daily wage of Ksh 455 (US$4.1) for six hours of work per day. The initiative reached over 280,000 youth across 23 counties in Kenya, contributing to social cohesion, skills development, environmental sustainability, and community service. However, there were some concerns related to poor coordination, delayed payments, political economy issues, and sustainability. Also, the program did not seem to create decent jobs or livelihoods for youth but rather provide low wages and precarious work conditions. Additionally, some question whether the initiative addresses the root causes of youth unemployment or merely provides temporary relief.
Kenya Youth Employment Opportunities Project – KYEOP
The project aims to create decent jobs and livelihoods for young people through various skills training and entrepreneurship support. KYEOP, a World Bank-funded project, targets youth aged between 18 and 29 years in select counties across Kenya. It provides training in various sectors such as construction, agribusiness, manufacturing, and services, along with financial and mentorship support for youth-led enterprises. The project has trained over 47,000 youth and facilitated the establishment of more than 5,000 micro and small enterprises, creating over 26,000 jobs. While KYEOP has shown promising results, some issues remain, including the need for better monitoring and evaluation, increased coordination with other initiatives, and sustainable funding beyond the project’s duration.
Ajira Digital Platform
The programme was being offered by the government through the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to train over one million youth in digital marketing and other online ventures. However, some gaps were identified, which included limited access to technology and the Internet, inadequate digital skills limiting awareness of online work opportunities, and insufficient entrepreneurial skills. Due to limited access to information, most youth especially those in rural areas did not get the opportunity to be sensitized about the programme.
Public Service Commission Internship
Targeting about 8,000 youth who have freshly graduated from university, the programme seeks to enhance the skills of young people in communication, research, and project management, among others. The programme is offered by the government through the Public Service Commission. The advertisements run every year and youth can apply for the programme through the commission’s website. However, there are limited placement opportunities because of demand and supply in the market. The number of youth unemployed is still higher than the 8,000 vacancies available. The programme also tends to be biased towards non-degree holders, except in a few areas such as information and communication technology.
National Youth Service
Domiciled under the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, the National Youth Service (NYS) targets youth who have mostly completed their secondary school education. The para-military training enhances the skills of youth in ICT, agriculture, entrepreneurship and community service. However, the programme has in the past faced a myriad of challenges, such as mismanagement of funds and inadequate monitoring and evaluation.
Uwezo Fund and Youth Fund
Both initiatives were targeting women and youth in entrepreneurship at the constituency level. The funds were being offered by the Uwezo Fund Oversight Board, which is the government agency responsible for management and implementation of the funds. However, most beneficiaries faced limited financial literacy, insufficient funding and limited information about the programme.
Youth Enterprise Development Fund
The fund was intended to benefit a wide range of youth entrepreneurs in Kenya. The fund was being offered by the Kenyan government through the Directorate of Youth Affairs. Some of the support strategies that the fund was putting in place included training, capacity building and job creation. However, some of the gaps experienced by the beneficiaries include complex application processes, and limited information regarding the funds.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In conclusion, Kenya has made strides towards addressing youth employment. Although the initiatives have not fully addressed the issue of unemployment, the beneficiaries have been able to access the labour market, hence improving their livelihoods. Some of these initiatives have provided vocational training and technical skills that have improved their entrepreneurial skills. However, the government still needs to work on sensitization of youth about these programmes, creating opportunities that align with the needs of the youth and creating an enabling environment for youth through initiatives such as tax incentives and reducing bureaucratic hurdles for starting youth-led businesses.
It is important to conduct a needs assessment before offering training and capacity building. This will enable the government to understand industry demands and the interests of the youth. This can be accomplished through a multifaceted approach involving the private sector, public sector and development partners. By so doing, the youth will be exposed to practical skills required for the job market.
Regarding entrepreneurial support, the government could support the youth through tax incentives. This creates an enabling environment for start-ups led by youth.
Also, to strengthen information and career guidance. This can be done by providing up-to-date information on market trends, leveraging on digital platforms to provide comprehensive information on demanded skills and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Comprehensive initiatives such as KYEOP are working well to provide mentorship and entrepreneurship skills to the youth. However, government entities need to be more proactive in sensitizing the youth especially those in rural areas due to limited access to information. These programmes mostly utilize area chiefs to reach out to beneficiaries, but they can also consider using youth leaders, village elders and other influential people at the community level, including those in arts and music to pass the message.
Authors: Joseph Mwaniki , KIPPRA Young Professional
Vivian Omariba, KIPPRA Young Professional
