Vision 2030, Kenya’s long-term development blueprint, envisions an empowered youth to drive economic growth. Given that the median age of the country’s 55 million people is approximately 20 years, it is appropriate to focus on the younger population (15-34 years).
This has led to a range of policies and strategies to address youth unemployment. The first national youth employment strategy was implemented in his 2015-2017 period. The second strategy was announced in 2019. Other interventions are also being undertaken to fund youth enterprises, support enterprises and provide direct employment.
However, the challenge of high youth unemployment remains serious. According to official government data, young people make up 84% of the unemployed population. One of the identified obstacles is the mismatch between the skills of graduates and the needs of the job market. Despite being educated, a significant number of young people remain unemployed or underemployed.
Read more: Millions of young South Africans are out of work: What is the answer?
One reason is that university curricula are too theoretical and lack practical, real-world skills. A related issue is that universities are sometimes established based on political or religious affiliation, regardless of labor market needs.
We are business research scholars and co-led a recent study on entrepreneurship training programs implemented by higher education institutions in Kenya. We sought to identify gaps and opportunities in entrepreneurship training using data from self-employed graduates and young entrepreneurs. We wanted to know what worked, what didn’t, in training our graduates, and what gaps they discovered in running their companies. We found that the majority of Kenyan employers believe that university graduates are not ready for the workplace.
By identifying where current education and training programs fall short, our findings provide insight into possible improvements. These include involving other entrepreneurship ecosystem stakeholders in the curriculum development process; There are potential benefits for all involved, including industry experience internships, access to mentorship, learning through solving real-world problems, stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship among students and staff, and technology transfer.
project results
Universities exist to create environments where students are encouraged to pursue and embrace opportunities, explore new ideas, take intellectual risks, and begin the process of becoming the researchers and innovators of tomorrow. But educational institutions around the world need to partner with external market players to develop the skills needed to build industries, companies, and products. There are few such partnerships in Kenya, where universities design their own entrepreneurship programs on their own.
Our research project was carried out by KCA University (Kenya) in collaboration with the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the University of Nottingham (UK). Youth Fund was chosen as the enterprise support partner because of its network of young entrepreneurs across the country. This gave researchers access to her database of over 1 million young entrepreneurs.
We set out to investigate why youth entrepreneurship training and education programs in Kenya were failing to help young graduates start, innovate, and sustain businesses.
First, we documented their daily experiences and understood their pain points and potential benefits. We also looked for gaps in training programs offered by universities and business development service providers. Finally, we mapped the range of entrepreneurship education and training programs available.
Read more: Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria needs to be real, not just in the classroom
We found that most graduates felt that their training was too theoretical and did not provide them with the practical skills they needed. For example, one participant summed up his experience aptly.
When it comes to business, the real story on the ground is different. We’ve been taught Marketing 101, but the way we do marketing in the field is different than what we learned in theory.
The approach to training was also centered around the teacher rather than the learner. Tests were focused on revealing what learners “got it right” rather than areas that still needed work.
Curriculum content is borrowed from the global north and largely divorced from local realities. For example, most case studies come from large companies in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas micro and small businesses dominate in the local context. And faculty members lacked actual industrial or entrepreneurial experience.
what’s next
The shifts required are wide-ranging. First, curriculum reform at universities and other institutions of higher education is essential. We need a more hands-on, hands-on curriculum with elements like peer mentorship, digital online marketing, and ways to continue learning and growing. Higher education institutions must stop trying to develop curricula in isolation, but rather collaborate with labor market and youth stakeholders.
Universities and industry should collaborate more. This could take the form of guest lectures from industry experts, problem-based assignments, or partnerships for internships and apprenticeships. For example, Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecommunications company, partners with several universities to provide practical training and internships.
If the reforms are successful, graduates will be immediately employable with both the technical and soft skills that employers are looking for. This would reduce the time it takes for graduates to find jobs and potentially lead to more graduates starting their own businesses. Success will also be reflected in economic growth through increased productivity and innovation.
With a well-educated and skilled workforce, Kenya has the potential to establish itself as a center of innovation and economic growth in Africa. This is not only about individual success stories, but also about uplifting entire communities and promoting national development. Investing in the education of our youth is an investment in our nation’s future.
