Nairobi youth push for jobs, not just skills

Young people from Nairobi’s informal settlements have called for greater access to jobs, financing, technology and basic services, saying skills training alone  is not enough to secure sustainable livelihoods.

The youth said many of them  acquire skills but remain unable to turn them into income because of limited access to equipment, information, finance and employment opportunities.

The concerns emerged during International Youth Day celebrations at Nairobi Cinema, held under the theme “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations.”

Jacob Omondi, a youth from Mathare and a community organiser at Muungano wa Wanakijiji, said young people in informal settlements were often left behind despite having skills and talent that could earn them a living. He said the challenge was not always a lack of ability, but the resources needed to put those abilities to work.

“You can have the skill, but you don’t have the equipment,” Omondi said, citing the cost of cameras, laptops, phones and internet access as some of the barriers facing young people seeking to work in areas such as photography, filmmaking and digital storytelling.

Omondi said poverty also affected young people’s access to information about available opportunities and government programmes. He called for greater involvement of young people in designing programmes intended to benefit them, as well as better and more current data to guide interventions.

Camila Gojobe from Mukuru Kwa Njenga said unemployment and insecure work remained major concerns for young people in informal settlements. She said many young people were forced into casual jobs despite having education or other skills.