| Abstract: | The study is aimed to investigate the nature and challenges of youth unemployment in Lideta Sub-city,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The participants include randomly selected youth life skills trainers and
trainees. Extensive document analysis, participant observation, and interview were the major
instruments employed to obtain the necessary data. Extreme poverty as obstacle to start education
and business; psychological dependency on government employment along with lack of
entrepreneurial skills; negative peer influence; often loose and negative society and youth
relationship; lack of robust political communication with the government; and rural to urban
migration were found to be the key factors behind youth unemployment. Moreover, poor to modest
macroeconomic performance; low level of employment creation; and a rapid increase in the
workforce were reported to be further exacerbating youth unemployment. On the other hand, some
efforts such as provisions of various trainings on entrepreneurship, vocational life skills;
accessability of credit associations; enabling the youth to be active participants and beneficiaries in
of whatever they are involved; and attempts for strong communication with high government officials
were outlined to be appreciable measures taken to curb the problem of urban youth unemployement.
Furthermore, enhanced education, information and health services; inadequacy of educated
personnel; and culture of interdependence were stressed as among the key opportunities available for
the youth. However, the study also uncovered that absence of adequate place to implement what they
have been trained for absence of market connectedness; mismatch between skills requirements and
education/training the youth; absence of follow –up (monitoring); absence of place to demonstrate
what they have produced; and limited training field are explained as some of the central
supplementary factors that could possibly incapacitate youth employment opportunities. The study
concluded that though the government has made encouraging progress towards curbing the problems
of youh unemployment, significant improvement remains to be made. That the unemployment situation
is particularly rampant among the youth, which constitutes the largest population calls for an urgent
intervention aimed at improving the fate of the unemployed. And this requires concerted effort among
concerned stakeholders. Hair breeding, mash room production, poultry were highlighted as
ecologically valid sectors to expand the limited training options. |
