Education And Vocational Training
Education System: The survey showed that the country’s education system is not in tandem with the current market needs. It was termed as rigid and out-dated. University and college students said that the education system allowed them little time for internships and therefore failing to bridge the gap between education and careers. They felt that a lot of them were spending a lot of money to obtain ‘absolute knowledge’ which was out of place in the 21st century. They also felt that most of the learning institutions were headed by people who were no longer concerned and thus did not see the need to change the out-dated policies.
Perception, Attitude and Culture: Another perception is that young people cannot deliver on their roles. Many young people face challenges while trying to look for employment as they find it hard to convince employers, creditors or potential clients that they can deliver or are credit worthy. There is a closed mind-set on other ventures other than formal employment by young people and the society in general. Most of the young people interviewed felt that they were cultured to believe that they had to go to school and later get employed and jobs such as entrepreneurship were for those who had failed in life.
Unclear and uncoordinated youth policies and programmes: The Kenya National Youth Policy states that lack of clear definition of youth and effective coordination mechanisms have negatively affected the development of youth work. Kenya Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports decries the fact that agencies including the international community have their own individual programs and policies which are not harmonized hence duplication of efforts leading to limited impact (source- Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports-Kenya). Lack of proper implementation of the existing policies and lack of young people in the development of policies is viewed by the young people to be a problem.
Lack of access to information: Lack of information came out strongly through observation during the focus group discussions. Many young people did not have information on the current market trends, how to access capital, available opportunities. They were also not aware of existing resource centres and services offered in the centres. They only visited libraries in the learning institutions which they claimed had little and out-dated information.
Unfavourable Social and cultural attitude towards youth: Youth at times face discrimination purely on the grounds of age. This is legitimatized by beliefs such as wisdom only comes with age. Society also perceives youth as irresponsible and troublemakers. This perception may contribute to difficulty in obtaining credit. Many young people are therefore unable to access start finance to start their business. When it comes to start up finance, due to the distrust by creditors of young people strict conditions are required for one to access credit. This is a major hindrance as most young
