This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
Published on August 1, 2019, a Nation Leadership Forum in Nairobi highlighted the pressing issue of youth unemployment in Kenya.
The country's youth, aged 15-30 years, make up the bulk of the population, but contribute the least to national development, leaving the burden to a smaller portion of the population.
According to Youth and Gender Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia, a majority of the unemployed youth lack the skills and knowledge to start their own businesses, even if given seed money.
Some 60% of them require further training and mentorship to discover what business they can engage in, while 20% have no idea about what to do.
With official statistics showing that about 5.5 million Kenyans, mainly youth below 35, are unemployed, the government is under increasing pressure to effectively deal with the crisis.
While the young are not blameless, being obsessed with white-collar jobs, the government alone cannot solve the problem. The private sector and other agencies must also chip in to address the issue.
