A youth workshop slated for Friday in Kigali is to brainstorm on innovative approaches and coherent policy messages in regard to youth employment and poverty reduction.

Organised by the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), in conjunction with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the workshop will be held under the theme: "Pathways for expanding Economic Opportunities for Rwanda Youth: The role of research and evidence.”

Youth groups, policy makers,  support and implementing agencies, the private sector and resource persons from regional countries will convene at Hotel Umubano to share their challenges and insights, according to a statement.

"Despite the impressive growth rates in Rwanda and East Africa, in general, there is widespread agreement that, this growth has been limited in terms of translating into poverty reduction and employment creation, more so for the growing youth population,” it added.

"As a result of this jobless growth, youth unemployment has become one of the major threats to the poverty reduction gains that have been achieved in Africa over the last 30 years.”

It is noted that if governments are to catch up with the pace at which the youths will come into the job market in the next decade, there is an urgent need to think out of the box and search for new innovative ways of generating youth employment and preparing youth for gainful and productive employment.

"We want the discussion to focus not only on the demand side but also supply side issues – the kinds of skills or training youth need to prepare them for gainful employment.”

Meanwhile, the latest Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV4) report, released last week, indicates that the country is well on track to achieve its target of 200,000 jobs annually by 2018.

It says that at least 146,000 off-farm jobs were created, annually, over the last three years, in agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining and quarrying, as well as in manufacturing, energy and air conditioning.