Government Entrepreneurship Programmes and Unemployment in Osun State, Nigeria

Youth unemployment is one of the most difficult problem threatening economic development of many nations. Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) is therefore increasingly recognized all over the world, as a panacea to ameliorate the menace of unemployment. Any country that attaches special importance or gives special attention to entrepreneurship stands a better chance of reducing unemployment and improved economy. This study therefore seeks to examine the impact of EDP on the menace of unemployment in Osun state, Nigeria. The specific objective seeks to examine the impact of National Directorate of Employment (NDE) on youth empowerment; and determine the effect of N-power on poverty reduction in Osun state. The study adopted survey research design, using item structured instrument to elicit information from the respondents, for a true representation of the whole population of twenty-five and seventeen thousand (25,000 & 17,000) from both NDE and N- power respectively. The sample of four hundred (400) and two hundred and fifty (250) from both NDE and N -power respectively, making a total of six hundred and fifty (650) respondents was drawn from the population using Taro Yamane (1967) formula for estimating sample. A total of 650 questionnaires were administered out of which six hundred and thirty-two (632) were properly filled and returned. The formulated hypotheses were tested using multiple regression with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS…Version20). The finding of the study revealed that NDE programmes have significant impact on job creation. with the R2 of 0.598. The study also revealed that N-power significantly address poverty reduction, most especially in Osun State, with R2 value of 0.687, which indicate that technical skills which comprises of cognitive and non-cognitive skill actually reduced unemploment. Therefore, It was recommended that, in other to produce a typical entrepreneurs that will not only be self-employed but employ more other unemployed youth, government should make it as a point of duty that beneficiaries are given practical training and ensure they acquire technical skills, both cognitive and non- cognitive skill during and after the programme. Keywords: Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP), Skills, National Directorate of Employment (NDE), N-power, Youth Empowerment

VET TEACHERS IN SLOVAKIA AND CHALLENGES FOR THEIR COMPETENCES IMPROVEMENT

The common problem of the many countries that´s identified by many policy makers, educators, economists and other professionals is the problem of high level of youth unemployment rate. Properly prepared workforce for the European economy are current challenges for the teacher and training community. The need to update vocational education teaching (further VET) - teachers’ qualifications and competences is very urgent in the all countries of EU. This study deals with teacher preparation in Slovakia and concisely describes selected results of questionnaire survey on vocational education teacher competences. The study provides an introduction to the theme of teacher competence improvement through small survey conducted at Slovak university of Agriculture in Nitra and suggests some challenges for solution in VET teachers preparation. There is a need of innovative practical approach to stimulating and develop key competences among students in VET institutions. This need is also connected with the quality of VET teachers and the professional teacher competences development in teachers’ preparation and in their further education.

Private Telecommunication Companies and Climate Finance: Evidence from the Niger Republic

Recently, the number of private telecommunication companies is increasing in the West African region. These private companies could be key actors in financing climate actions in their operating countries. Yet, the contribution of private telecommunication companies in financing climate actions in West African countries is not well documented. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the contributions of private telecommunication companies in financing climate actions in the Niger Republic. This study is based on secondary data collected through a systematic review. The literature search was conducted through Web of Science, Google Scholar, and the blog pages of the websites of the key private telecommunication companies operating in the Niger Republic. The findings of the study showed that several climate actions were executed by the key private telecommunication companies operating in the Niger Republic. These included both climate adaptation and mitigation strategies that targeted to combat desertification, fight against youth unemployment, alleviate poverty, reduce population illiteracy, and reduce the exposure of the vulnerable groups to food insecurity. Consequently, an implementation of a comprehensive public-private strategy between the government and the private telecommunication actors to finance climate actions could significantly reinforce the effort of the country to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Youth’s participation in agriculture: A fallacy or achievable possibility? Evidence from rural South Africa

Background: The realisation of more youth involvement in the agricultural sector has proved to be elusive, so the question of the possibility of a youth-led agriculture needs further investigation.Aim: The aim of the study was to assess whether there is potential for the rural youth to participate in agriculture by employing the typology formulation approach.Setting: The study is premised on recent calls for strategies to reduce youth unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa by involving and enhancing the agricultural sector.Method: A survey in questionnaire form was conducted with 224 youths from two districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Principal Components Analysis and K-Means Clustering were performed to determine the youth typologies and assess their potential.Results: Five typologies were identified. Most youths (59.3%) were found in Typology 1 (those that see no benefits in farming) and in Typology 2 (older, experienced and with access to land). Typology 5 (male youths in agricultural cooperatives) had the lowest proportion of youths (5.7%). Participants in typologies 2, 3 and 5 were deemed to have high to moderate potential for successful engagement in farming. The highest potential was found in the typology with the least percentage of youths.Conclusions: The typologies showed that youths have varying perceptions and aspirations regarding agriculture. While some show an interest and have the potential to participate in farming, others do not. Therefore, the blanket notion of the youth’s lack of interest in agriculture should be qualified as it does not always hold. The heterogeneity in characteristics among the youths in these typologies, including their potential to participate in agriculture, expresses the differences in the kinds of support needed to increase their participation.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of the National Youth Service Programme in Skill Development of Unemployed Graduates in the North West Province of South Africa

For the last 3 decades, youth unemployment has been a major challenge in South Africa. Education and training has been considered as a solution to this challenge in the country. The South African Government introduced skills development programs focusing on the youth to reduce unemployment and poverty. However, the youth unemployment among the skilled has been persistent. Given this background, an attempts is made in this study to evaluate the effectiveness of the National Youth Service Program (NYSP) in skill development of unemployed Graduates in the North West Province of South Africa and determine stakeholder involvement in the conceptualization, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the skills development program. The research methodology used in this study was both quantitative approach aimed to fill in the knowledge gap, which is achieved through critical reading and analysis of what other researchers have identified, and qualitative method. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data. Questionnaires were self-administered to obtain primary data from (90) graduates and (10) stakeholders who took part in the NYSP. Th e main finding of the study indicates that 83 % of the NYSP graduates are unemployed since completing the skills development program in the 2017 fiscal year. The study alluded that lack of stakeholder participation and commitment in the NYSP was attributed to the high rate of NYS graduate unemployment. Stakeholder engagement and participation will also play a critical role in ensuring that learners completing the skills development program are linked to employment opportunities and are self-reliant. The study recommends that stakeholder identification should take place before the program is being implemented.

Rural areas of the EU and the influence of globalization on the youth unemployment issue

To speak about the framework of youth unemployment, there is a strong correlation between the economic performance of the state, the general unemployment rate, and the youth unemployment rate. Most important for the states to improve statistics are to work on economic performance and create better possibilities for the young population of society. The growing economic environment will have a positive effect on the unemployment rate in the short run, but it still tends to be the most important issue of states. Besides, policies might concentrate on developing the areas that will bring into the scale a high potential of employment growth. As an example, we can bring the area of tourism, social services, environmental management, etc. which will be more attractive to young people and will have more potential to get employed. It is obvious, that to develop in the framework of unemployment and especially to concentrate on the youth generation of society, the country needs a full package of economic developments. Youth unemployment is directly linked to the general and broader development stages of the state. Another issue that we have not tackled so far is the unemployment of youth in rural areas.

Higher education decisions and macroeconomic conditions at age eighteen

Using individual data from PIAAC and data on youth unemployment for 18 countries, we test how macroeconomic conditions experienced at age eighteen affect the following decisions in post-secondary and tertiary education: (i) enrollment (ii) dropping-out, (iii) type of degree completed, (iv) area of specialization, and (v) time-to-degree. We also analyze how the effects vary by gender and parental background. Our findings differ across geographies (Anglo-Saxon, Southern European, Western European, and Scandinavian countries), which shows that the impacts of macroeconomic conditions on higher education decisions depend on context, such as labor markets and education systems. By analyzing various components of higher education together, we are able to obtain a clearer picture of how during economic downturns potential mechanisms interact to determine higher education decisions.

Pathways to recovery from COVID-19: characterizing input–output linkages of a targeted sector

At present, the world is facing an unprecedented employment challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. International Labor Organization of the United Nations expects the largest amount of youth unemployment at the global level to take place in manufacturing, real estate, wholesale, and accommodation sectors. This paper has two objectives. The first is to introduce a graph-theoretic method for identifying upstream and downstream pathways of a targeted sector and characterize them in ways that help respond to and recovery from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second is to apply this method in the context of China, Japan, India, Russia, Germany, Turkey, UK and USA, which together account for about 60 percent of the world GDP. Based on the analysis of most recent input–output data from 2015, manufacturing sector is found to be top priority sector to be targeted in all the eight countries, followed by real estate and wholesale sectors, and these sectors should be coupled with isolated communities of sectors to capture external employment and growth effects. Characterizing the critical pre-COVID-19 linkages of a targeted sector should inform policy makers regarding the design of employment and growth strategies to recover from the pandemic.

Raising youth unemployment as one of the consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic

For studying the excess of youth unemployment in comparison with other age groups in Europe and selected world regions, the authors hypothesized the high efficiency of government employment policy, taking into account the possible consequences of displacing other age groups. The aim of the study is to formulate proposals for reducing youth unemployment in Europe and selected world regions in accordance with the identified specific causes of this phenomenon. The main objectives of the study are: - consideration of macroeconomic indicators of Europe and selected world regions in 2015 to 2020 and the peculiarities of their interconnection; - identification of the most specific causes of youth unemployment excess in comparison with other age groups in Europe and selected world regions; - formation of proposals for reducing youth unemployment and justification of their feasibility. To achieve the purpose, special and general scientific methods were used, including: graphic method, comparison, formalization, systematization, generalization, induction, deduction, analysis and synthesis. Based on a study of employment in selected world regions in 2015 to 2020, it was found that there is a significant excess of youth unemployment compared to the general unemployment rate. However, unemployment may be less of a problem for young people than for adults, as it tends to be shorter. Moreover, young people may simply change jobs more often, so the higher unemployment rate observed is mainly functional and therefore not particularly harmful. Reducing youth unemployment is a difficult task, but complete inaction in this area or attempts to solve unemployment problems in other age groups at the expense of youth employment can lead to more severe economic consequences. In general, the hypothesis of the high efficiency of government employment policy, taking into account the possible consequences of displacing other age groups, is proven. Among the main motives prompting scientists to further study the problems of youth unemployment are the economic and social difficulties that the economically active population faces when they lose their jobs. In the future, concrete steps can be developed by states in the framework of employment policy, which can include individual counseling procedures, as well as systemic interventions based on the analysis of social circles in which young people are involved (for example, families and couples, not just individuals). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the macroeconomic indicators of Europe and selected world regions is examined. In particular, the dynamics of real GDP and employment rates during 2012-2020 are reflected. It was found that young workers in Europe were more prone to job losses during the crisis than the elderly population. However, the downward trend in youth employment affects not only Europe but also other regions of the world, including developing countries, where youth unemployment can be three times higher than the general rate. A number of reasons for low youth employment are identified, including a barrier to entry the labor market due to the lack of experience, insecurity of jobs, high frequency of voluntary dismissals and a tendency of youth unemployment towards over-cyclicality.