National Employment Services

Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social

Welfare, Zimbabwe

PRESENTATION AT THE INTERREGIONAL WORKSHOP

ON:
‘YOUTH EMPLOYMENT: CROSS CHANNEL, A WINNING
STRATEGY’
MARRAKECH, 29 – 30 OCTOBER 2013

PRESENTED BY:
VIMBAI MARGARET CHIZA (MS)
SENIOR EMPLOYMENT OFFICER
CAREER GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING
 Presentation Outline

1. Background to the Employment Situation in

Zimbabwe.
2. Skills Gap and Unemployment.
3. The Building Block (Need Analysis).
4. Youth Employment, Policies and Interventions.
5. Experienced Challenges in the Economy.
6. Conclusions.
 Background to the Employment
Situation in Zimbabwe
Overview ( Using the 2011 Labour Force Survey to
analyze Youth Employment in Zimbabwe).
 Persons aged 15 and above
 Economically active population is 87.3% of the country’s
population of 12 million.
 Unemployment considered to be very high .
 5.4 million considered employed, 84% informally 11% formally, 5%
in employment not classified.
 Those aged 15 and above are 58.4% of the total population and the
youth are defined as those aged 15 – 34. In case of UN definition,
15 – 24 and the AU sets a higher outer limit.
• The youth are the major economically active group within the
population of Zimbabwe;
• Policies put in place prioritises Entrepreneurship development in
creating decent employment opportunities for the youth;
 Overview

 Using age group 15 – 34 years for the

youth:

 Accounts for 56% of the currently employed.

 58% of the population in informal employment.
 43% in formal employment.
 Broad youth unemployment rate for the 15 – 34
age group is 15%.
Percentage Distribution of Currently Employed
Population by Level of Skill and Sex

Skill Level Male Female Total

Professional 6.3% 4.3% 5.3%

Skilled 8.2% 2.8% 5.5%

Semi – Skilled 7.1% 3.2% 5.2%

Unskilled 77.3% 88.6% 82.9%

Not Known 0.1% 0.2% 0.1%

Not Stated 0.9% 1.0% 0.9%

 Skills Gaps and Unemployment

 The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates

that 75 million young people are unemployed.
 McKinsey Global Institute estimates that by 2020 there
will be a global shortfall of 85 million high- and
middle-skilled workers.
 To address youth unemployment in Zimbabwe, two
fundamentals need to be in place: skills development
and job creation and the need to connect education to
employment.
 The Informal Sector and unemployment nexus.
 The Building Block
(Needs Analysis)

 Bright sparkling business ideas

 Sustainable and effective markets
 Technical and managerial expertise
 Accessible and affordable funding structures,
systems and processes
 Competitive technology
 Creation of an enabling environment for decent
work
 Youth Employment Policies
and Interventions

 National Youth Policy.

 The Skills Development and Rural Empowerment
Programme (TREE).
 The Youth Employment Support Jobs for
Marginalized Unemployed Youth (YES-JUMP).
 Indigenization and Empowerment – Employee Share
Ownership Plan (ESOP) and Community Trusts.
 Implementation of the third generation of the
Zimbabwe Decent Work Country Programme
(ZDWCP).
 The National Youth Policy (NYP)

 Developed in 2000 with the aim to, ‘empower

the youth by creating an enabling environment and
marshaling resources necessary for undertaking
programmes and projects to fully develop the
youth’s mental, moral, social, economic, political,
cultural, spiritual and physical potential in order to
improve their quality of life’.
 NYP Strategic Areas

 Education and Skills Development

 Youth Empowerment and Participation
 Youth Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods
 National Youth Service
 Gender Equality and Equity
 Information, Communication and Technology
 Data and Research
 Youth and Environment
 Youth Migration
 Youth Coordination and Mainstreaming
 The Skills Development and Rural
Empowerment Programme (TREE)

 Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) is

implementing the program together with the
ILO targeting out of school youths.

 The objective of this initiative is to equip more

young men and women in the informal sector
with skills that will improve their
employability in more productive and decent
work.
 Programme Strategy

 Programme strategy focuses on;

 Quality improvements in traditional apprenticeships in the
informal economy.
 Community-based technical and vocational skills
development programs in rural areas for the out-of-school
youths in Zimbabwe.
 It also focuses on two main areas of action;
 Introducing the ILO’s training TREE methodology in rural
communities to support local economic development.
 Upgrading delivery of training through systems of informal
apprenticeship.
 Programme Funding and
Organization

 US 2.2 million approved by ILO for Skills development

for Phase 1 (2010 – 11) whose results determines for
Phase 2 (2012 – 14) in line with the Decent Work
Country Programmes for the region.

 PES members sit in the national and steering

committees chaired by the Ministry of Labour with
other relevant stakeholders being members to the
committees. These committees monitor on
Programme implementation.
 Achievements to Date

 Successful implementation of the Programme.

 Development of a database for the retrenches under

the master craft persons and technical experts
register.

 The number of beneficiaries in either wage or

gainfully employed, is expected to reach 4 480 or 70%
of the total beneficiaries by end of 2014.
 The YES JUMP Project
 Objectives
 The project’s main objective was to contribute to
poverty alleviation efforts through creating 1000 green
jobs for the youth and poor marginalized communities
in Zimbabwe.

 It facilitated entrepreneurship development, skills

training, technical and financial support to local job
creation schemes. Strengthening small enterprises and
cooperatives and business development in a pilot
targeting 3 districts in the country.
 Programme Strategy

 Skills Training for unemployed youths and

vulnerable groups including poor women and young
girls on self employment through cooperatives and
enhancing apprenticeship training to fill the skills gap
for informal sector.
 Poverty Reduction through strengthening
community based organizations (CBO’s).
 Empowering young women for long term
security through employment creation in the field of
food production and processing.
 Strategies Contd’

 Facilitating business linkages and promoting

Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s). Creation of a
broader partnership between local stakeholders to
implement priority projects for youth at community level.

 ILO disbursed a Youth fund to Micro Finance institutes

from an approved budget of US 1.2 million for Kenya and
Zimbabwe to enhance access to capital by entrepreneurs.
Grants enabled grantees to advance loans to beneficiaries
who were organized into SACCO’s.
 Youth Fund Performance Analysis

 All micro finance institutes well established.

 They have tried and tested systems which are already
operational.
 They have institutional capacity and experience of
years.
 Have microfinance experience.
 Beneficiaries successfully trained and organized into
SACCO’s (Community Groups).
 Pilot proved to be responsive to some of the challenges
faced by the youth e.g. employment creation and access
to capital.
 Direct Linkage with TREE

 YES JUMP has been linked to the Skills Programme.

 Beneficiaries took advantage of the Skills

Programme.

 However, grant period was too short especially when

the project is still in its normative stage.
 Programme Achievements
 Pilot scheme objectives met;
 As at end of August 2011, the 1018 job target was
surpassed using 70% of the grant. 1 321 at end of pilot.
 47% being women.
 Capacity Building
 300 youths trained in Start and Improve Your
Business, 250 in cooperative management and 25
microfinance organisations.
 100 trained in technical skills – aquaculture,
mushroom, beeping and horticulture.
 Monitoring and Evaluation

 A good framework for M&E laid out.

 Grantees made monthly reports in addition to
reporting to every meeting.
 Quarterly reports and visits to project sites by
Monitoring team (PES Officers and District
Implementing Committees (DIC).
 Project Self Evaluation – June 2010.
 Fund Independent Evaluation – August 2011.
 Green Jobs Self Evaluation – November 2011.
 End of Program Evaluation – March 20012.
 Indigenization and Empowerment

 Opportunities in the Labour Market

 Bank Loans
 Cooperatives
 Youth Skills Projects
 Personal Business Ventures
 Company Formations
 Acquiring new relevant skills
 Seeking re-employment
 Current Projects Funds

 Small and Medium Enterprises & Cooperatives

 Registration of Cooperatives.
 Business Development – SEDCO funding.
 Meikles IDBZ Bank Out grower small live and
horticulture – Usd 5000 @ 10% interest payable
within 12 months.
 STANBIC Bank Wealth Creation Fund Usd 5000 –
Usd 20 000 @ 14% interest but requires collateral of
immovable asset.
 Current Projects Funds Cont.

 Youth Development Indigenization and

Empowerment
 Youth Fund Usd 500 – Usd 20 000.
 Youth Development Fund through IBDZ Bank – Usd 2000
at 10% annual interest payable in 12 months.
 Youth Development Fund through IBDZ Bank – Usd 2000
at 10% annual interest payable in 12 months.
 Youth Empowerment Fund through CBZ Bank – Usd 2000
at 10% l interest payable 6 - 12 months.
 PPP’s Funds with CABS Bank – Usd 5000 @ 10% annual
interest payable within 36 months.
 Implementing the Decent Work
Country Programme (DWCP)

 The ZDWCP has been successfully launched for its

third generation (2012 – 2015) and is considered key
in the realization of the decent work agenda on
priorities of promoting rural employment, issues
relating to retrenches, disabled, informal economy
enterprises and supporting youth employment.

Against this background, most of these programmes

have been launched forming the basis and response to
technical and cooperation programmes for the
promotion of employment and poverty alleviation.
 DWCP Contd.

 At an international level, efforts contribute

towards the promotion of social justice and
decent work for all, and the MDG goal 1 on
eradication of extreme poverty with respect to
target 1b on achieving full and productive
employment and decent work for all including
women and young people.
 Experienced Challenges in the
Economy

 Increased Informalization of the Economy.

 Failure of the formal sector to generate sufficient jobs
has led to the growth of the informal sector (IS) –
‘Economic Dualism.
 Because of the income and employment generating
capacity, contribution of the IS towards employment
creation is acknowledged.
 However, data deficiencies on the IS present serious
challenges for analysis.
 The question then is on how to leverage on the IS to
grow viable and sustainable businesses.
 Challenges Contd.

 Addressing issues of Youth Unemployment and

Underemployment requires;
 Identification of the role the youth can play in economic transformation –
(entrepreneurship skills; big visions and business ideas; knowledge
driven initiatives, extensive use of ICT to Leap Frog Development).
 The integration of formal and non formal sectors virtuously.
 Leveraging on the country’s Comparative Advantage – educated and
youthful population.
 Link skills and technology as agents of economic transformation and
growth in productive employment.
 Investment in technical and vocational training linked to specific needs of
the labour market.
 What skills are required to anchor and sustain the development of
Zimbabwe.
 Challenges Contd.
 Youth mobility (within towns and regionally).
 Unfriendly operational environment, levies and taxes
through city council and local government (discouraging).
 Inability to access loans due to inability to demonstrate
required collateral and assets.
 Stereotypes and negative perceptions associated with
working with the youth (instability, insincerity, lack of
commitment e.t.c).
 Resistance to working in cluster/ groups.
 Microwave generation.
 Unwillingness to engage in knowledge sharing.
 Conclusion

 Dynamic Economics have leverage on Robust Private Sector (e.g

SME’s) Development initiatives that foster wealth and job
creation.
 Addressing Constraints that restrict growth of Young
entrepreneurs and growth of viable and sustainable MSME’s is
key in addressing issues of informality and youth unemployment
and underemployment.
 Promoting an investment and saving culture among the youth.
 Need to build skills for competitiveness.
 Need for innovative financial solutions and lending criteria that
cater for the needs of small businesses.
 Zimbabwe has a greater opportunity to reap the Demographic
Dividend given the Investments over the Years in
Education – How do we leverage on Competitive advantage.
 The End

Thank You for your Kind

Attention.