UN Joint Program on Youth Skills, Employability and Civic Engagement

Executive Summary The SDG Multi-Partner Trust Fund Kenya- UN Joint Programme on Youth Skills, Employability, and Civic Engagement enhances youth employment, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement in Kenya, with a prioritised focus on young women, persons with disabilities, as well as youth in Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASALs) and informal urban areas. The programme focuses on five counties: Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Turkana, and Isiolo counties. The programme strengthens the linkages between the training institutions and the industries through -apprenticeships, internships, or workplace-based learning to prepare the youth with the skills required by the labour market. It strengthens youth-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises through support that addresses financial constraints to start-up and expansion, ease of access to capital, and provision of business support services as well as supporting transition of enterprises from informality to formal operations. Youth voice and agency remains a critical component of the programme facilitated through leadership training, mentoring and participation in policy and governance systems. The civic participation and accountability are encouraged through nurturing young people led movements, empowering national youth institutions and enhancing the capacity of effective, inclusive and gender-responsive governance. Through the promotion of inclusive, climate-sensitive livelihoods and the increase in opportunities in sustainable production, the programme helps achieve more equitable economic growth, decent work, and resilient communities. The International Labour Organization coordinates the interventions in skills development, entrepreneurship, and access to social protection with the application of a participatory and results-based approach to effective delivery and measurable impact. Key targets include 300 youth acquiring market-relevant occupational skills and 50,000 youth benefiting from financial and business support services. The programme aligns with ILO priorities on full and productive employment, sustainable enterprises, and inclusive growth, contributing to Kenya’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring that marginalized youth, women, and vulnerable groups are not left behind.

Project symbol

KEN/24/50/UND

Admin unit

CO-Dar es Salaam

Start date

18/11/2024

End date

12/11/2028

Total allocation

128400

Total expenditure

Status

Active

114130

Development Partners

Multi Partner Trust Fund Office, UNDP

Country/Countries

Kenya

Outcomes

Outcome 4: Sustainable enterprises for inclusive growth and decent work
Outcome 3: Full and productive employment for just transitions