New study reveals gaps between entry-level skills held by youth and employer requirements.

There is a large gap between the skills possessed by youth entering the workforce and the current and emerging needs in Kenya’s job market today. This is according to the ‘Job Entry-Level Skills: Seizing the Moment, Securing the Future’​ report by Aga Khan University’s East Africa Institute.

The study, which was conducted in 24 counties and interviewed over 9,000 people - employers and employees, found that the service sector in Kenya is growing fast, far outpacing manufacturing and agriculture which have in the past been perceived to be offering most of the level entry opportunities to Kenyan youth.

The report however shows that while youth leaving tertiary institutions and universities may have technical skills, they lack the soft skills that are critical to the operations of the service sector, causing a mismatch between education and the job market. 

The Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance (GISD), a UN-supported coalition of 30 business leaders, works to provide decisive leadership in mobilizing resources for sustainable development, with the core objective being to identify incentives for long-term sustainable investments.

The ECOSOC President's Summary from the July HLPF can be found here. This blog focuses on the section on Voluntary National Reports (VNRs).
Before listing the summary let me make a few comments. It seems to me that:

1. How many countries actually have a sustainable development strategy that has been developed with stakeholders AFTER the agreement on te 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement?

Africa Youth Month will comprise of a launch activity on the 1st of November, and thematic weeks across the month, aligned to the 4Es( Education, Engagement, Entrepreneurship, and Employment ). The Youth Cafe activities will include youth-led actions, conferences and meetings, dialogues and extensive social media engagement.

We are joining the African Union Commission in celebrating Africa Youth Month in November 2019, under the theme “1 Million by 2021: Count Me In!” The African Youth Charter adopted in 2006 proclaims the 1st of November as Africa Youth Day, and in 2019, given the myriad of interventions and actions on youth spurred by the 1 Million by 2021, The Youth Cafe is joining the Commission in celebrating youth in the entire month of November.

The Global PB Hub Review Committee offered The Youth Cafe Executive Director a board seat on the Global PB Support Board. The PB Support Board will guide the Hub's work to improve PB practice and impacts. It is responsible for advising on the needs of PB implementers and advocates, deciding on priorities for new PB resources and tools, and supporting the Hub in developing and disseminating resources and tools. They received nearly 80 outstanding applications from 34 countries, and this is a recognition of our exceptional work on PB.

The Youth Cafe led  a project to create a governance fact cards to enable young leaders and other actors to gain deeper understanding and skills as well as access tailored tools and reference materials to aid their work in the promotion of peace building and good governance at the local level. This is in response to limitations in the availability of reference materials, inadequate knowledge and limited opportunities for effective networking and collaboration hampers the capacity of CSOs and activists to fulfil their mandate in promoting peace and democracy at the local level, including failure to conduct effective grassroots civic education.