Empower – Challenge to design a skill development center for youth

Empower – Challenge to design a skill development center for youth

Youth unemployment

There are almost 7,50,000 young adults in Kenya getting into the job market annually, and they form one of the highest numbers getting into the job market worldwide. But the amount of youth that secures a job is only 15 per cen%, which is creating a situation where the amount of potential is higher than the jobs available, which is resulting in social and economical imbalance.

Overall, Kenya’s youth unemployment is higher than the national unemployment average: 17.7 % of youth are unemployed, where the national rate is 7.4 %.

Further, 21 % of female youth are unemployed compared to 17 % of their male counterparts. Thus, making Kenya’s most powerful resource a weakness. During 2013, the NEET rate for youth aged 15-34 years was estimated at 29 %, meaning close to 5 million youth was not in education, employment, or training in 2015.

While this issue springs from a much deeper problem of illiteracy, education systems, overpopulation, and resources provided by the region/country, how can we tackle it through the lens of a problem solver and architect?

Empowerment, education and reform

There are a variety of reasons that are accounting for unemployment, which includes the majority being the lack of education or awareness or both in the youth. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) points out that youngsters who are not in education, employment or training, are especially at risk since they are neither improving their future employability through investments in vital skills nor gaining work experience through employment.

This problem is expected to increase and estimates that the unemployment number will reach 7 million by 2030. Various different solutions have been carried out by authorities in order to withstand this changing trend by introducing various schemes/scholarships and educational programs/activities that would help in the reformation and employment of the youth. These being temporary solutions aid in few sectors of a region. Can we provide a long-term and growing solution to this issue? How can architecture aid as a solution to this issue? What architectural interventions will aid in the betterment of this solution?