Apprenticeship is a credible solution to youth unemployment

In Summary

It will widen opportunities for rewarding careers, enhance economic mobility, and increase engagement of young people who drift aimlessly through the formal education system. It will also give more young people pride in what they do, both in mastering an occupation and in their confidence that they have learned how to learn.

Despite some government interventions in tackling youth unemployment, the level of unemployment and underemployment is still prevalent. Year after year, training institutions continue to churn out graduates who have nowhere to find work.
Youth unemployment remains a serious policy challenge demanding a much more strategic and sustainable solution that works and pays for itself. A solution which will offer balanced returns to the job seekers and employers. Observably, one major problem contributing to this unemployment dilemma is that majority of graduates’ skills don’t match what the market wants thus, making it difficult to fight youth unemployment in the country.

Skilling the youth through a more practical oriented system is absolutely the right model that should quickly be adopted. Apprenticeships are a tried and tested alley into the world of employment. This is an approach that has demonstrably proved beyond doubt that it’s a great player in fighting unemployment especially among the youth.
Unlike internships, apprenticeships train young adults with specific skills for jobs in sectors/industries that need more workers. The job seekers are trained by combining work-based learning with classroom instruction, in a unified programme that leads to a recognised and valued occupational credential. This initiative is feasible to implement as it addresses what is the most pressing labour market issue at the moment.

Young people, especially those, with less interest in sitting through classes all day, are able to spend part of their time learning skills as well as practicing them. The trainees contribute to production and growth while they learn. Additionally, they are paid a salary, which further motivates them to be fully focused on the training. Through such trainings, skills that may necessitate improvement are also identified, cultivated along side personal development needed for success in the workplace. During these mentorship projects, job seekers are able to study the craft while at the same time learning the trade before competently competing in the job market. At the end of the training, apprentices graduate with a sense of pride and identity because they are a valued member of a skilled community.

Furthermore, the apprenticeship programme is also a sure channel of addressing structural constraints of the large, poorly educated population lacking the social capital that would help get them incorporated in gainful employment, to access workplace skills, amass experience and eventually job placement.
Nonetheless, it’s only the government that has the scale to reach the young and unemployed. It’s got the full potential to prioritise and make long-term commitment needed to educate our children. Although the importance of building partnerships between the business community and government are critical. Partnerships, that will recognise required skills and design training programmes tailored to meet demand.

Embracing apprenticeship as a common method of recruitment and training by employers will lessen the burden on government of financing human capital.
One reason for pushing for apprenticeship training is that youth unemployment rates are lowest in countries where apprenticeships are highest, namely Germany, Switzerland and Austria. These countries are known for their success at smoothing the transition from school to careers.

The stimulus to apprenticeship training by firms will pay large dividends.
It will widen opportunities for rewarding careers, enhance economic mobility, and increase engagement of young people who drift aimlessly through the formal education system. It will also give more young people pride in what they do, both in mastering an occupation and in their confidence that they have learned how to learn.

It’s about time we realised that an education centered on an academic-only strategy is ill-suited for a diverse population and for the varied needs in the labour market. Building a robust apprenticeship system will play a far more constructive role in expanding the middle class than maintaining a pure school-based strategy focused on mass production of graduates. Building of skills is crucial to jobs creation, although there is need for an effective strategy on prioritising industrial development, promoting talent development, revamping agricultural institutions, supporting productivity and marketing of produced goods.