NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 24- Founded by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, The Prince’s Trust group of charities now works in 18 countries has launched findings from their ‘Future of Work’ report, supported by HSBC.
The findings highlight that young people want to learn more life skills and build careers that are values-led and entrepreneurial.
The international research was conducted across eight countries, including Kenya, as well as Canada, Ghana, Jordan, India, Pakistan, the UK, and the USA.
The report seeks to amplify the voices of young people, exploring their hopes and aspirations and the support they need as the world adapts to COVID-19.
Part of The Prince’s Trust group of charities, Prince’s Trust International has been working in Kenya since 2019.
The organisation has been working with the Asante Africa Foundation on Prince’s Trust’s Enterprise Challenge programme that engages secondary school students in much smaller groups than in most classrooms, so they can develop their presentation and teamwork skills.
The programme inspires young people in Kenya to develop the skills needed to become entrepreneurs.
The pandemic has had a seismic impact on young people. Almost 25% of young people in their 20s were not in education, employment or training in the second half of 2020 (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics).
One research participant in Kenya talking about the pandemic said “you would find that it is just mostly spending time alone and there isn’t much in terms of bonding with friends and just having fun. So, I missed out on that, and I still do”.
As young people contend with an uncertain future and an unstable labour market, listening to them is critical to understanding the right response. The research highlighted three key areas central to the future of work for young people around the world: sustainability, future skills and entrepreneurship.
–Entrepreneurship–
The findings showed an interest from participants in entrepreneurship. For some young people, the pandemic allowed them, through necessity and creativity, to develop a ‘side hustle.’
Seen as a route to financial wealth and stability, 41 percent around the world said setting up their own business was the profession that they would most like to work in, more than a job in a large corporation (34%) or working for the government (36%).
A research participant in Kenya commented that “the coronavirus pandemic made me concentrate full-time with my boutique. I used to have it for a long time, but it was on and off because I was employed. When Corona came the employment contract ended, I had to focus full-time on it.”
Speaking about the pandemic’s impact, another research participant in Kenya also said that it showed them “the importance of having several streams of income”.
Catherine is a 17-year-old schoolgirl. During the pandemic, she also became a business owner and an employer.
The Enterprise Challenge programme gave Catherine valuable tips to increase her sales and profits, helping her steer her fledgling business – a clothes shop – to success. Prince’s Trust International is committed to supporting this new generation of entrepreneurs with further training and investment.
Prince’s Trust International has also been working with Shujaaz Inc. in Kenya to develop the ‘Hustla MBA’ programme, an online and face-to-face learning journey built around young people sharing their own lessons on setting up and growing a business.
–Sustainability–
Participants highlighted a desire to work in emerging green and digital industries and be agents of sustainable change with 74 percent interested in a green job globally. Further research has shown there is a significant knowledge gap by some young people in how they access these opportunities and what skills are needed.
More investment into green jobs would help bring more people into the sector, with one participant saying, “many people might want to take part in the step towards reducing climate change but they do not have the knowledge or the know-how of where to begin.”
In response to this, Prince’s Trust International is calling for partnerships with employers to create entry-level jobs in the green and digital sectors, with focused educational opportunities.
–Future Skills–
Alongside a focus on sustainable careers, there was a desire from participants to develop life skills that will prepare young people for the future of work. Among those surveyed internationally, 87% cited soft skills such as self-confidence, teamwork and reliability, as vital to the future of work, on par with basic schooling (86%), and above high school qualifications (80%) and university (75%). Young people were also united (85%) in thinking that digital literacy is also important.
Covid-19 has encouraged young people to take initiative and develop important life skills. For instance, one research participant in Kenya said that, as a result of Covid-19, their “classes were put on hold for some time… and I realized that time is passing by so I need to find a way to earn something and that is when I started doing things like writing, to do some bit of typing… Also use of excel spreadsheets and stuff like that.”
To help support young people, Prince’s Trust International is calling for investment in future skills programmes to prepare young people for the workplace.
Alongside this report, the organisation is launching a campaign to help support ‘Generation Stand up, Start up.’ The campaign calls for partnership with employers and collaboration across civil society to meet young people’s ambitions and create more decent, sustainable jobs; invest in skills for work and support a new generation of entrepreneurs.
Will Straw, Chief Executive of Prince’s Trust International, says: “As we respond to young people’s needs and put their voices front and centre, our work with local partners in Kenya is growing. This report has shown young people’s growing passion for entrepreneurship and how important it is for young Kenyans to have access to the right tools to enable them to fulfil their future ambitions. It is exciting to see so many young people determined to make a difference to local communities and the wider world – these young people are the agents of change, and we must support them to achieve their ambitions.”
In his foreword for the report, President and Founder of The Prince’s Trust, HRH The Prince of Wales, says: “Through this report, we are launching a campaign to help support ‘Generation Stand Up, Start Up.’ We are calling for partnership and collaboration to meet these ambitions and create more decent, sustainable jobs. We want to give more young people the opportunity to develop the skills suitable for the world of work. We want to nurture talent and give support to this emerging generation of entrepreneurs.
“For the future of our world, it is vital that we put young people at the heart of this recovery”.
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