Youth economic empowerment: assessing the contribution of national service initiatives

The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of youth economic empowerment, with respect to the contribution of national service initiatives. The study was guided by four research questions addressing issues on: the nature of training that youths get from National Service, the extent to which the National Service Initiatives have helped youths in securing employment, the ways in which youth trained by the National Service have utilized the knowledge and the acquired skills, and the extent to which the National Service has helped youths to engage in self-entrepreneurship. In terms of methods, the study used a mixed methods approach that included the use of interviews, questionnaires and a rigorous review of various documents pertaining to National Service and how they managed to empower youths with various initiatives. As for data analysis, data from the field was tabulated, computed and presented graphically in figures. As for the qualitative data, they were analyzed thematically, using the content analysis technique. Data were interpreted and given relevant description in line with the objectives of the study. The study found that there was variety of courses that youths are trained in once they attend the National Service training, with the majority of the respondents (35%) having trained in agriculture-related businesses. The training, moreover, enabled majority of these youths to be employable in various areas of competence. The trainings enabled youth to be civilly engaged with the community by participating in community initiatives that largely benefit the community in which they live. Majority of the respondents also felt very confident after attending National Service training, though some few felt confident. Based on these findings, the study recommends the need by the government to scale up this National Service recruitment project to many regions of Tanzania, with the inclusion of the private sector in the training of these youths, and to increase the budgetary support for youth’s economic empowerment initiatives, so as to reduce the scourge of unemployment which still remains a big problem in the country.