Low technology usage and lack of capital persist as primary barriers to job creation among the youth, the Minister for Public Service and Labour, Jeannette Bayisenge, has said.
She made the remarks in a media interview during Labour Day celebrations in Kigali on Wednesday, May 1.
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She said: "Noticeable gaps in job creation include limited use of technology. Today, the world continues to move towards more and more use of technology, not only in the tech industry but also in agriculture, healthcare, and beyond. Technology plays an important role in our daily life but its utilisation among Rwandan youth and the population in general remains low.
"Capital constraints among youth and Rwandans in general also pose challenges."
Despite the creation of 235,332 jobs in 2023, the government fell short of the target of creating 150,000 jobs during the year.
"We are continuing to put efforts in areas where gaps are,” Bayisenge said, giving an example of a new project launched on Labour Day by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), her ministry, and several partners. The initiative aims to equip youth with technology skills and provide them with capital to initiate their ventures.
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Funded by the Luxembourg government, the project, worth 4 million Euros, will span from 2024 to 2027. It will primarily focus on youth aged 16 to 30 in Kigali and Rwanda’s secondary cities.
Government ministries, including the Ministry of Labour and Public Service, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of ICT, will collaborate to develop and refine policy frameworks supporting youth employability in the tech sector.
Institutions like the Rwanda TVET Board, Rwanda Polytechnique, and the Higher Education Council will assist in crafting digital skills curricula and digitalising TVET institutions.
The project will also include provisions for capital support for innovators.
Fatima Sirelkhatim, the Project Manager and Enterprise Development Practitioner official at ILO Rwanda, emphasized that the project will foster entrepreneurship in the digital economy and bolster existing businesses.
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The Ministry of ICT and Innovation anticipates ICT sector employment to reach approximately 100,000 workers by 2035.
The International Finance Centre (IFC) projects that by 2030, Rwanda&039;s labour force will require about 3.3 to 3.4 million workers trained in digital skills across various sectors, including agriculture, services, industry, ICT, and e-commerce.