UN vows to support young entrepreneurs

Louis Mkuku, National project coordinator  ILO

By Beatrice Philemon, 20th December 2012

 

The United Nations in Tanzania has vowed to support youth entrepreneurs who will be ready to establish businesses or projects to help them set up their own enterprises. The support will be in terms of training and loan facilities, a move that will help to increase productivity, incomes and thereby alleviate poverty.

This was revealed on Tuesday by Louis Mkuku, national project coordinator of the ILO Youth Entrepreneurship Programme during a training for youths out of school, which was organised by the United Nations Information Centre in collaboration with International Labour Organisation (ILO). “Youths who will be ready to embark on projects will be supported by the UN in terms of loan facilities, training and guidance on how to run their businesses," Mkuku said, adding: “This training has been designed to assist you set up your own enterprises and is in line with MDG 1 to ensure people reduce poverty in their familiesl,” he said.

“To meet this initiative today a total of 100 youths out of school from Kigamboni Peer Educators Network, Kibaha Youth Centre, Save the Women Tanzania group, Buguruni Youth Centre and Makangarawe Youth Centre were trained on entrepreneurship skills and how to manage their business so they can help Tanzania meet the Millennium Development Goals, especially goal no 1," he said further.

 

According to him, this is a new programme designed by the UN in Tanzania to help youths put into practice their business concepts or ideas.He said after the support the UN will go back to track their project or business progression and see how it could further help them.

United Nations Information Centre’s public relations officer Usia Ledama said the workshop was intended to awaken youths to create sustainable jobs for themselves and others by incorporating useful techniques such as market analysis, cost listings and record keeping. “We are here not only to enlighten you on the concept of entrepreneurship but also to recognise imagination and innovation of some young women and men seated amongst you and help them identify their wrongs in order to put them right so their businesses can shift to a higher level,” she said.

The participants included members of youth development groups such as Kigamboni Peers Educators Network, Kibada Youth Centre, Save the Women Tanzania Group, Buguruni Youth Centre and Makangarawe Youth Centre.

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Youth unemployment a ticking time bomb

President Jakaya Kikwete

Daily News Editor,  17th December 2011

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete said at the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Summit in Kampala, Uganda, that youth unemployment in Africa poses a serious threat to the well-being of societies.

He appealed for intervention. He also advised that incisive intervention by leaders was imperative. Each African nation produces an “army” of unemployed youths every year as they complete their studies, he said.

Indeed, unemployment is a growing problem that has been described by a number of national leaders in various parts of Africa and farther afield as a “dangerous time bomb” that could explode in future.

Africa, in particular, faces demographic challenges as its population of young people, aged between 15 and 25, increases and access to secure jobs continues to be problematic. Beyond economic costs, high rates of youth unemployment have social ramifications in Africa.

Some youths with few job prospects and little hope of future advancement go into crime and become a menace to society. Tanzania, which is no exception, has made efforts to create jobs or opening avenues for self-employment but, unfortunately, most mindsets among jobless youths are fixed on well-paying white-collar jobs.

There has over the years been a massive rural-to-urban migration among many youths in search of employment. One reason for this factor may be dismal agricultural performance. Another could be the warped mindset that education means automatic or salaried employment.

But once in towns, the youths often find themselves stuck in slums with little or no way to make even a survival salary and frustration soon sets in. It is estimated that about 133 million young people (more than 50 per cent of the youth population) in Africa are illiterate.

Many young people have little or no skills and are therefore largely excluded from productive economic and social life. Those that have some education often exhibit skills irrelevant to current demand in the labour market.

The rude shock here is that educational and skill requirements are increasing, resulting in millions of unemployed and underemployed youths.

In countries such as Tanzania, vocational training is seen as a means to “help bring young people back into the economic limelight” when the basic education system has failed (the notion of giving a second chance), or as a top-up to the basic knowledge base.

So, it is assumed that vocational training could help prepare youths for the immediate needs of the world of work. But this approach cannot solve the problem of unemployment fully. The youths still remain short of literacy, basic knowledge and lifelong learning skills.

Happy New Year 2013

YOSSO team wishes a Happy New Year 2013 to all its friends, subscribers and website visitors. With every New Year, we hope to improve our services and provide more assistance to youth in Tanzania and beyond so that they can access training easily and effectively. Thanks to your valued support and continuous feedback, we have managed to develop new strategies and ideas for better training prospects. We are sure more and more youth clubs will now benefit from the trainings we provide on sport and youth development programs and other resources. This year 2013 we will focus on entrepreneurship training programs in youth clubs in respond to surging problem of unemployment among youth in Tanzania

So, once again, a happy and prosperous New Year and we all hope this New Year will bring in more new opportunities for youth around the Tanzania and beyond!