Youth Unemployment and the emergence of the discouraged job seeker

Young people remain particularly stricken by the global financial crisis. Currently, some 73.8 million young people are unemployed globally and the slowdown in economic activity is likely to push another half million into unemployment by 2014.

The youth unemployment rate – which had already increased to 12.6% in 2012 – is expected to increase to 12.9% by 2017. The crisis has dramatically diminished the labour market prospects for young people, and many experience long-term unemployment right from the start of their labour market entry, a situation that was never observed during previous cyclical downturns.

Currently, some 35% of all young unemployed have been out of a job for six months or longer in advanced economies. As a consequence, an increasing number of young people have become discouraged and have left the labour market. Long spells of unemployment and discouragement early on in a person’s career also damages their long-term prospects, as professional and social skills erode and valuable on-the-job experience is not built up.

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Skoll Foundation, Curator, Digital Platform

Location: Palo Alto
Application Deadline: January 31st 2012

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director of Knowledge and Networks, the Curator, Digital Platform has a hands-on, leadership role in developing the content and community platform for the Foundation. This role requires a strong doer with an ability to leverage the power of content, community and digital to accelerate progress in the social arena.

Read more http://www.yipekenya.org/Skoll Foundation Curator Digital Platform.htm

Youth Enterprise Development Fund – Call for Expressions of Interest to Develop Strategic Plan

The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) is a project of Vision 2030 and provides loans and other enterprise development solution services to Kenyans aged 18 to 35 years.

Over the last five years, the Youth Fund has financed over 130,000 youth enterprises and supported thousands others through its business development services and through the jobs abroad programme.

Read more http://www.yipekenya.org/YEDF.htm

12 Questions to ask when developing your consultancy business plan

With the number of jobs dwindling in the formal sector, and the emergence of outsourcing, many professionals are finding that using their expertise as a consultant is the way to go. Being a consultant offers several benefits: you are your own boss, you can set your hours as well as the clients you offer your services to.

However, when developing a business plan for your consulting enterprise, its also vital to ask yourself a few questions to ensure that your business gets off the ground in the most successful way.

Read the 12 Questions for a consultantsbusiness plan

YES Kenya and YIPE Terms of Reference (TOR) for Design of Website and Content Management accessible via net and mobile platforms

The Youth Entrepreneurship & Sustainability (YES Kenya) Network and the Youth Interactive Portal for Enterprise (YIPE) have embarked on a joint project aimed at Promoting the Culture of Entrepreneurship in Kenya.

To meet the challenge of achieving this ambitious project, the services of a skilled contractor is required to design a dynamic website and content management system and translate that onto a mobile platform that will meet YES Kenya and YIPE needs.

Expected end-results

Front end:

• Creation of an eye-catching, easy to navigate website and mobile portal, that is robust and searchable, whilst offering several interactive features to the users.
• The website should be accessible to low-bandwidth users and should not require downloading of any specific fonts or programme for complete user experience. The mobile platform should be accessible to low-end devices.

Back end:

• Creation of a robust and intuitive customized Content Management System based on project requirements. The CMS should allow YES Kenya and YIPE to manage and update the website easily through sub-administrators who are not expected to have any special technical knowledge.
• YES Kenya and YIPE should be able to update all the pages and sections remotely but securely through the online CMS without requiring any external HTML editor or downloading of software.
• The website (net and mobile) should be database-driven / modular so that it can handle all the existing information and be able to handle new documents that would get uploaded on it on a daily basis.
• The website should be able to integrate multimedia

Overall:

• The website should be secure and bug-free.
• The data should be held in a secure environment. It should be possible to regularly back-up the entire database and restore all the data in case of any errors.
• The website should conform to major web-standards so that the website and its content can easily be indexed by major search engines and is accessible by different browsers.

Requirements

The requirements although not exclusive, will include:

• Proven track record of use in web and mobile development. Applicants will have to provide a minimum of three (3) links and references for sites they have developed in the last two (2) years.

Applications

Your application should include, but is not limited to:

• A capability statement.
• Your CV – maximum of 2 pages
• A list of at least three (3) web and mobile site links and references. The references should be organisations/ individuals that have contracted the applicant within the last 2 years.

Please submit electronic applications by Friday November 26^th 2010 to info@yipekenya.org with the subject heading Application for web and mobile development assignment.

Youth entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply.

About YES Kenya

Youth Entrepreneurship & Sustainability(YES Kenya) Network is a national youth multi-stakeholder network involved in promoting youth entrepreneurship and employment in Kenya and committed to the global call of creating sustainable livelihoods for Youth. For more information, visit www.yeskenya.org/new

About the Youth Interactive Portal for Enterprise (YIPE)

The Youth Interactive Portal for Enterprise (YIPE) is a new media social enterprise that provides free business information and resources to Kenyan youth entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.yipekenya.org, and follow @yipeorg on Twitter.

Lessons on entrepreneurship and innovation from Brazil

Yesterday’s Sunday Standard had an article written by Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o, Minister for Medical Services on why Kenya needs a science and technology driven economy to thrive. Coming at the back drop of Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s visit to Kenya, the article raises several points for why Brazil is a major emerging economy,  and which Prof. Nyong’o posits is due to the Brazilian government prioritising innovation as a major development concern. In turn he states that policies regarding technology as well as scientific societies need to be mainstreamed into Kenya’s national development.

However probably as a result of column space, a reader could maybe assume that making the public sector friendlier to technology change is all that is required. That ensuring adequate public resources are directed into science and technology will firmly put Kenya on the trajectory to become the middle income economy envisaged in Vision 2030. But that ignores the human aspect.

Brazil has placed emphasis on it's SME sector which accounts, just like Kenya for the majority of jobs and businesses in the economy. Indeed, according to an article on the Kaufman Institute for Entrepreneurship’s website titled Brazil’s Entrepreneurship Boom, the increase in new companies in Brazil has been linked with the country’s developing entrepreneurial culture and mindset. Each year this has been demonstrated by the number of participants in Global Entrepreneurship Week which increased from 1.5 million entrepreneurs in 2008 to 5.3 million in 2009.

And even though the country’s listing on the ease of doing business index has recorded similar challenges as Kenya in terms of high tax rates; as well as having structural impediments such as an education system that does not engender financial literacy, Brazil’s entrepreneurship development policy is strikingly different in that it focuses on promoting high-growth ventures as opposed to Kenya’s policy of just creating enterprises with the hopes that they will one day be able to create jobs.

This has meant that Brazil’s high impact intervention has brought about more immediate impacts on the economy, than the more laid back approach of just creating ventures with little regard for growth.

Similar to Kenya where according to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, there are 2.5 million unemployed youth and barely 125,000 are absorbed into the formal sector annually; young people in Brazil aged between 18 and 24 years account for 36% of the country’s unemployed. Nevertheless, lessons learned on Brazil’s focus on innovation as well as the promotion of an entrepreneurial spirit does give hope that indeed Kenya could just be on a positive path to Vision 2030, come the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Sage Kenya, Promoting Entrepreneurship Where it Matters the Most

SAGE Kenya is a country chapter of the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship, a global community of teenage entrepreneurs sharing a common purpose. Started in 2009, Sage Kenya’s mission is to help create the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders whose innovations and social enterprises address the world’s major unmet needs.

Much of Sage Kenya’s work is currently within Western Kenya preparing students for success in college and in the competitive global community by linking them to role models from  Maseno and Great Lakes Universities.

SAGE Kenya has also worked with high schools within Kisumu East and West District to inculcate the culture of entrepreneurship among students by assisting them to set up model entrepreneurial projects.

The organization also has a mentorship programme working with university and polytechnics to assign one to two student mentors to each high school to assist participating schools to prepare for district competitions. This opportunity provides the students with a platform to develop their problem solving, opportunity-seeking and informed risk-taking entrepreneurial acumen that will be of use in starting their own commercial or social ventures in the future.

Current projections are that SAGE Kenya will be instrumental in creating between 100 to 400 more new entrepreneurial ventures annually.

During a recent competition, students from various schools presented ventures that included:

• Agriculture: a solar anti-ripening machine made from local materials such as polythene bags. 
• Health: a student design team presented a demonstration kit that educates the youth on the effect of nicotine to the lungs. This model is now being used by the Drug Abuse Campaign in Kenya. 
• Technology: a solar water purifier has been developed . 
• Food security: a Hydroponic Cultivation system has been developed using designed Shade nets that use old mosquito nets and local tree poles that reduce the cost of pest control among farmers. 
• E-Government: some student have developed a central database system that can be adopted by the Government to have all the government operations in and a central system. 
• Eco-Energy: using Jatropha as alternative source of energy, some students have developed a model plantation for a jatropha seed nursery. 
• Recycling: some students have started to sell curio product made from water hyacinth which is a nuisance from the Lake Victoria.

The timing for a programmes like SAGE Kenya cannot be better, and the organization is lobbying the government to make the education system more relevant and rigorous whilst at the same time promoting an entrepreneurial culture amongst students.

Indeed SAGE Kenya’s approach is a “pattern-changing idea to practical innovation”. The emphasis on the practical, scalable and cost-effective shows that it is a progressive organization that teaches students to create sustainable profits and more jobs for their peers.

Entrepreneurship - Kenya's Economic Saviour

By Jeconia Omondi Olonde

The current economic condition for Kenya is on a down hill while the population growth rate is quite high. This implies there is an increase in unemployment as the new jobs created cannot match the increase in population. A situation is created where the youth are finishing university, college and secondary school expecting to be employed yet the economy cannot accommodate them. This will in the end bring social instability especially with the high cost of education.

But what can the government and the private sectors do to help alleviate the situation that may bring the country to its knees? An initiative such as the Kazi Kwa Vijana was started by the government and has ended as a failure, taking the country back to the maze. The Kazi Kwa Vijana could not have been sustained as we can say the jobs given to them “do not add value” to the economy and the government is spending a huge amount of money in paying recurrent expenses. Also some of the jobs given may seem demeaning to some of the unemployed graduates. Telling an engineering graduate to clean trenches shows that the government has no plans for its citizens who are meant to be assets.
 

Further, unemployment situations in Kenya have been increased by the high requirements by employers in order to get jobs. Requirement of years of professional experience for jobs in Kenya has made it difficult for the fresh graduates to get jobs and their Kenyan dream of finding that dream job after years of education.
 

For the country to be able to create employment, the government and the private sector should highly consider embracing entrepreneurship as a source of expanding the economy and reducing poverty. With the shift towards technology, the government can use the youth to enhance and come up with new technologies which will help accelerate growth and achieve Vision 2030.
 

Some of the ways in which the government can do to help youth embrace entrepreneurship are:

• Providing financial assistance and guidance. Many youth have good business ideas but translating these to actual jobs is hindered by lack of knowledge of transforming ideas into feasible and tangible work. Also financial guidance on how to spend the initial finance is necessary as the projected financial statements are is not enough, for example, purchasing of essential assets, marketing and branding, establishing of internal business controls, and book keeping.
• Providing mentors to the youth who come up with good business ideas or proposals. The mentors are used to guide the youth especially through the tough times as they have been in the business before and they know what to do best in such situations.
• Introducing entrepreneurship as a subject in schools so that the students are able to know early enough how to start their own businesses and succeed. Mentality of students has to be changed from them expecting employment for them to create employment. This should be done for both students in professional courses and those in vocational training. In the earlier years, it was preached in radio stations and songs that at the end of education one will get a good job and this mentality has stuck in the mind of the population. We should therefore start changing the minds of people with regards to this.
• Providing tax incentives for young entrepreneurs who provide employment to others. There are difficulties involved with business start ups and therefore the government should recognize this effort by giving the youth tax incentives. This has been done to Export Processing Zones (EPZs) to attract foreign direct investments. Local investments should also be considered important as this brings more stimulus to growth as there are no profit flights.
• Patenting of special business ideas created by the young people. This may reduce the chances of the ideas being stolen by other capable individuals or by corporations. Good ideas are known to have been submitted to “wrong” organizations which take advantage of the weak protection laws of ideas. These weak laws demoralize the young people with brilliant ideas who may opt to stay with the ideas for long until they are able to finance themselves. Developed countries are known to have proper laws protecting ideas created by its citizens and developing countries should follow suit.
  

These are only some of the things the government should take into consideration if it has to help the country become entrepreneurial. The effect of citizens creating job opportunities in the economy cannot be over emphasized and the government has to act fast to improve the livelihood of its citizens.

Transcript of President Obama’s Video Message to the AGOA Forum in Nairobi

Hello everyone. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you in person. But please know that for me and for my family, the memories from our recent trip to Ghana are still fresh — we will always remember the warmth of the Ghanaian people and the promise of Africa’s potential.

I hope you’re enjoying Kenya — and the hospitality of the Kenyan people — as much as I always have. When I first came in 1987, it was to discover the story of my father, who had grown up herding goats in the tiny village of Alego. When I visited as a Senator, I promised to work for a U.S. foreign policy that gives hope and opportunity to the people of this great continent.

Today, it is my privilege to address you as President. And I want to repeat what I said three weeks ago in Accra. I do not see the countries and the peoples of Africa as a world apart. I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world. In our global economy, our economic fortunes are shared. And history shows that economic growth is among the greatest forces for progress in lifting people out of poverty.

That’s why the African Growth and Opportunity Act is so important. That’s why the AGOA Forum is so critical. By breaking down old barriers and opening new markets, we not only increase trade between our countries. We create powerful incentives for African entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, to create jobs and build a brighter tomorrow for their children. That is what AGOA is all about.

So I thank President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga for hosting this Forum. And I pledge to you the full support and partnership of the United States. That is why my Administration is represented there today by outstanding members of my Cabinet.

Over the last decade, AGOA has transformed the U.S.-African trade relationship. Opening America’s doors to your exports has been good for Africa — creating African jobs, bringing millions of dollars of investment to sub-Saharan Africa and sparking new trade across the continent. And it’s been good for America — with African exporters seeking U.S. expertise, investments and joint-ventures. And today, we’re your single largest trade partner.

At the same time, it’s clear that U.S.-African trade has yet to realize its full potential. And if the current recession teaches us anything, it’s that in a global economy not only the opportunities are shared. So are the risks. So there’s so much more we can do together to plant the seeds of our economic recovery, and to achieve lasting prosperity.

Only Africans can unlock Africa’s potential. It will take your entrepreneurship. Your innovation. And only Africans can ensure the good governance and strong institutions upon which development depends. Open markets alone are not enough. Development requires the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and an atmosphere that welcomes investment. And I encourage every country to set concrete goals for overcoming the obstacles to economic growth.

And to all Africans who are pursuing a future of hope and opportunity, know this: you have a partner and a friend in the United States. That’s why we’ll work with you to develop strong institutions, clear legal frameworks and the regulations and infrastructure that help bring new products to market. That’s why we’ll work together to harness Africa’s vast natural resources to generate clean, renewable energy for export. That’s why I’ve pledged substantial increases in our foreign assistance — not simply to help people scrape by, but to unleash transformational change. And that’s why we’ve joined with our international partners to promote food security by investing $20 billion in agricultural development — not simply to hand out American food, but to promote African self-sufficiency.

These are the things we can do together to unleash the skills and talents of our people. And to ensure our common prosperity in the 21st century. And if we do, I’m confident that Africans can live their dreams from Nairobi to Accra, from Lagos to Kigali, from Kinshasa to Cape Town.

Thank you for your work at this important Forum. Enjoy Nairobi.

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Kenya’s Education System: A leaning tower of Babel

Today's top news story of the Daily Nation went by the title “students with lower grades to join varsity”. The good news was that public universities agreed to admit high school graduates with lower marks compared to last year.

Of course this will improve the lot of students who because of grades would not be able to enter university. However, though this should be a harbinger of hope for Kenya’s youth, several questions emerge on the real effects of such a move.

The unemployment rate amongst Kenya’s 35 million people is approximately 40%. It is estimated that 64% of these are the youth. Out of these, only 1.5% of unemployed youth have formal education beyond secondary school level and the remaining over 92% have no vocational or professional skills training, at all. But does allowing these extra youth the opportunity to go to university make a real impact in their chances of getting a job?

Even though universities are the cradle of research and innovation which could be perceived as a step in the right direction of nurturing future entrepreneurs, the education system before tertiary level does not adequately impart the innovative and resilience skills required of entrepreneurs.

Annually more than 240,000 post-primary students enter the labour force. Additionally 143,000 students graduate from high schools. The Kenyan education system in its current form does not equip these school leavers with skills to start business. Rather the curriculum is founded on rote learning rather than creativity and innovation, further stifling entrepreneurial development.

Even in the universities the calibre of the teaching staff raises questions. The Commission for Higher Education recently proposed reforms where the lowest qualified lecturer would be a tutorial fellow holding a Masters degree. The eminent scholar and noted historian Prof. Bethwell Ogot has been in the forefront as an opponent of this measure. He was recently quoted in the media decrying such a move saying "some teachers with a Masters are even allowed to teach Masters students".

And though these new regulations should be commended as a move to regulate the amphitheatre football stadium scenario many university students have to face and hoarse throated lecturers’ rue, at the end of the day it’s really not what is heard in a lecture but the quality of the content and transfer of knowledge that counts.

Kenyan education reforms have not only been the preserve of academia. Politicians whilst campaigning have promised “new education systems” that increase the capabilities and capacity of the youth to “effectively operate in the knowledge economy”. Even Vision 2030 - Kenya's development plan has lofty claims founded on the education system that will by then make Kenya if not a newly industrialised economy then a middle class one. However government commitment to education has been compromised with a new Education Bill that at least is expected to enforce laws that will keep children in schools, where the Ministry of Education has been less than proactive in ensuring it passes through parliament.

A question of merit versus the feel good factor

Meritocracy is a situation where opportunities are extended based on demonstrated talent, competence and ability, rather than wealth, family background, socio-economic class and other historical determinants of social position.

When extending a helping hand to enable those who just by a few points missed entry into university, thought must also be given to both those already in public universities who worked hard to make the grade as well as those still in secondary school. With no ultimate reward (a decent job with a decent wage assured at the end), the message to those students in our campuses as well as high schools is that hard work in school no longer pays. After all, another meeting of university dons can be convened to lower the entry grade further at a later date.

So what balance can be accommodated?

First, as the first crop of standard one pupils of the 2003 universal primary education policy edge closer to entering secondary school, the policy of free primary and subsidized secondary schooling needs a committed review, with the ultimate objective of providing quality education, whether for all or for a few has to be debated, as well as the subject of another post.

Kenyan policy makers also have to be honest with themselves and the People of Kenya about the increasing rate of unemployment particularly amongst the youth. The education system has to provide financial literacy, personal and business management training as core subjects. The time when a job was assured even in the civil service is over – at Yipe.org we have even heard of Masters degree holders digging trenches as part of the ill-thought Kazi Kwa Vijana programme.

To accommodate both the university graduates and lower level school leavers estimated at 800,000 annually, business reforms that specifically target micro-enterprise startups also need to be implemented.

Ultimately, education has to be held sacred. Kenyans need to take ownership of education and never allow it to be politicized ever again.