ROLE OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH AUTHORITY IN SKILLS TRAINING FOR EMPLOYMENT CREATION IN WA MUNICIPALITY

Abstract

This study assessed the role of the National Youth Authority (NYA) in employment creation in the Wa Municipality. The study adopted the relative deprivation and the empowerment theory as its theoretical foundation. A case study design was employed. Purposive, convenience and snowball sampling techniques were employed in selecting the respondents for the study. In all, 35 respondents were selected for the study. They included five NYA Officials and thirty youth (both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries). Tools employed for the data collection were interview guide and focus group discussion guide. The data was analysed and presented using content analysis, thematic analysis and document review. The main causes of youth unemployment are lack of skills or unwanted skills, erratic rainfall and bad weather, low investment and low economic growth, slow growth of SMEs, and lack of a comprehensive strategy to deal with the problem. The findings also show that Strategies identified and implemented by the NYA are mainly training and development, education and sensitization, logistics, and mentoring. The research established that most of the strategies are not effective in the Wa Municipality as most unemployed youth exhibit „deviant behaviours‟ and attitudes which could also cause them to be “frustrated, hopeless and desperate”. The challenges the NYA faces in creating employment for the youth in the Municipality are financial constraints, inadequate human resource, inadequate logistics, low participation of youth on the programme, political interference, and lack of commitment from stakeholders. The study concludes that strategies for reducing unemployment by the NYA are not effective. It is recommended that government through the NYA should stimulate growth of the private sector (SMEs) and provide communities with dams and irrigational facilities for all year round farming.