Worrying statistics posit nine in 10 youths seeking employment in Kenya

Young graduates exhibiting their credentials along city roads to beg for jobs has become common in recent days [Photo: courtesy]

We are staring at a huge unemployment crisis that requires urgent and practical interventions from all players, but more importantly, from the Government. Alarming statistics paint the picture of nine in every 10 people seeking employment in Kenya today are youths below the age of 35.

This is a ticking time bomb as more of our hopeful college graduates join the job market in search of non-existent placements. Matters have been complicated by the difficult economic environment that has crushed many upcoming enterprises that might have employed some. It should serve as a wake-up call to action using different strategies since measures that were employed before haven’t worked.

Top on our discussions should be asking what role the education system has played in getting us here. We are already transitioning to a new educational system that, hopefully, will provide a long-term solution for our children. Before then, an immediate intervention is required for the graduates already in the job market.

Recent policies have been directed towards encouraging self-employment and entrepreneurship where the graduates would be creators of opportunities rather than seekers. In getting there, small budgetary allocations have been set aside for supporting enterprises owned by the youth.

However, with the present numbers of job seekers, it is clear that either the intended beneficiaries are not turning up to borrow to fund their ideas or they do not have bankable business ideas in the first place. It is also true that the budgets have been widely abused by the managers who also make it nearly impossible to qualify for support.

Government officials must now stand up and ensure that public procurement opportunities open to the youth are jealously ring-fenced for the benefit of our struggling youth. Banks should also play a bigger social responsibility in owning part of the youth unemployment problem by developing targeted lending products that would have preferential qualifications.

It is high time the lenders loosed their purse strings and got back to lending to support enterprises, as they pursue other ways of having their objections with the interest rate regulation known. We cannot afford to lose our youth to disenfranchisement.