Improving youth employment in Botswana: the need for evidence-based policy and programme development

Abstract

Policy and programmes in response to youth unemployment in Botswana have hitherto not produced the desired results despite sustained political support reflected by massive government spending on youth development programmes, number of programmes initiated and youth enrolled. However, government has often been criticized for spending funds on short term under-employment and indecent jobs, quick fixes and unsustainable programmes with little impact on job creation. The objective of this paper is to examine the strengths and challenges of programmes meant to address youth unemployment and suggest innovative long lasting solutions to improve prospects of youth employment in Botswana. It will highlight the need to reflect on the appropriateness of past and current policy decisions taken to address youth unemployment. This paper argues that in order to address the prevailing challenges, greater emphasis should be put on research to generate reliable empirical data on the pervasive problem of youth unemployment in Botswana.