Rwanda
Strategies for youth employment
- Strategies for youth employment
- Yes
Youth employment strategy planned in the next 2 years
- Discussions within the government
- No
- Consultations with national-level stakeholders (e.g. employers’ and workers’ associations, youth councils, etc.)
- No
- A draft strategy already exists
- No
- Other (please specify)
- No
Countries with national action plans for youth employment
- Monitoring framework (timeline and activity/outcome indicators, e.g. youth labour market indicators)
- Yes
- Funding (indicative budget to implement the plan)
- Yes
- Institutional responsibilities (e.g. ministries/agencies in charge of specific planned activities )
- Yes
- Other, specify
- No
Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
- Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
- Yes
Additional information:
Ministry of Public Service and Labour through its collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic PlanningYouth in the national development / employment strategy
- Youth in the national development / employment strategy
- Yes
Additional information:
• Creation of Productive and Decent Jobs is a core objective under the National Strategy for Transformation Phase 2 (NST2) (Section 3.11). • The Revised National Employment Policy (2019) specifically addresses employment for Youth, Women, and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) under Section 5.5.5, highlighting targeted measures to improve youth employment opportunities.Countries with national goals for youth employment
- Countries with national goals for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
• Creating 1.25 million productive and decent jobs over the National Strategy for Transformation Phase 2 (NST2) period, averaging 250,000 jobs annually. • Supporting youth entrepreneurship by incubating business innovation projects through technical assistance, startup capital, and provision of production equipment under the Private Sector Development Youth Employment Strategy (PSDYES). • Facilitating capital access for youth-led startups and growing SMEs within value chains (VCs), as part of PSDYES initiatives. • Promoting entrepreneurship and business development, with a special focus on youth and women, as outlined in the Revised National Employment Policy (2019). • Enhancing hands-on skills development among youth outside the formal education system to improve employability and job readiness. • Supporting and empowering youth and women from the informal sector by improving access to finance, entrepreneurship opportunities, and new technologies (Revised NEP 2019).Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
- Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
• Reduce the unemployment rate from 15.2% in 2019 to 7% by 2035 and further to 5% by 2050. • Train and certify 1,280 unemployed semi-skilled, unskilled youth, and NEETs under the Dual Training Program by the 2024/25 fiscal year. • Place 19,000 interns in public and private institutions in 2023, and 1,500 interns in the 2024/25 fiscal year. • Support 15,313 startups and early-growth SMEs to access finance through Partial Credit Guarantee provision in 2023, and 5,500 in the 2024/25 fiscal year.Policy areas in national youth employment strategies
- Macroeconomic and Sectoral policies
- Yes
- Enterprise Development
- Yes
- Education, Training and skills development
- Yes
- Labour Demand
- Yes
- Labour Law and Legislation
- Yes
- Labour Market Policies
- Yes
- Other (please specify)
- No
Social partners' inclusion in the youth employment strategy
- Workers
- Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
- Fully involved
- Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
- Fully involved
- Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
- Fully involved
- Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
- Fully involved
- Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
- Fully involved
- Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
- Fully involved
- Employers
- Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
- Fully involved
- Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
- Fully involved
- Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
- Fully involved
- Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
- Fully involved
- Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
- Fully involved
- Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
- Fully involved
Youth-led organizatios' inclusion in the national strategy
- Fully involved
- Yes
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- No
- Consulted
- No
- Informed
- No
- Not involved
- No
Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
- Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
2025: Youth Employment Opportunities through Community Based Approach The initiative of Community Based Approach was adopted to provide youth employment opportunities through facilitating them to create companies within their community and contracted to perform some tasks as one of the way to empower them and accompany them to grow progressively. So far this approach is working in Road Maintenance, Environment and water Supply Management where youth opened the companies and get employment contracts with their districts to deliver on given tasks. for example: 1. Youth Road Maintenance Program; 2. Youth Water Supply Management Program establishment of the Business Development Fund for Access to finance for the business capital 1. Micro leasing scheme 2. Leasing scheme 3. SME guarantee 4. Agribusiness investment facility 5. Business Development Advisory Service 6. YouthConnekt Awards Competitions Employment Mainstreaming in Public Institutions through National Planning Consultations 2020: The Government of Rwanda has different interventions and initiative aimed at promoting youth employment. These initiatives are implemented not only through National Labour Council where private sector, employers, employees are involved but also with civil societies, NGOs and Development Partners.Inclusiveness of vulnerable groups in national strategies
- Women
- Yes
- Migrant Workers
- Yes
- NEETs
- Yes
- People with disabilities
- Yes
- Low skilled workers
- Yes
- Rural workers
- Yes
- Other (please specify)
- No
Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
- Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
- Yes
Additional information:
2025: 1. ILO has funded a project "Boosting Decent Jobs and Enhancing Skills for Youth in Rwanda’s Digital Economy" 2. Enabel has funded the thematic Portfolio on Social Protection 2020: ILO Technical support in developing youth related policies and programmes APEFE Technical and financial support in implementing workplace learning policy: dual training