Approximately 100,000 young people enter the labour market every year in Rwanda. Less than 1% of these are able to find gainful employment.
Yes Rwanda is a civil society, Non Governmental Organisation, based in Kigali Rwanda. Established in 2004, it is part of the Global Youth Employment Summit Campaign that was launched by the Education Development together with the Government of Egypt and Former USA President Bill Clinton as a Co-chair in 2002.
There are currently 84 YES organisations throughout the world, with headquarters based in Boston, USA : www.yesweb.org
YES Rwanda was established to address the growing problem with unemployment in Rwanda, specifically addressing youth (14 – 35 years of age) entering the labour market.
YES Rwanda’s overall aim is to create 200,000 sustainable jobs for Rwandan youth that will benefit overall livelihoods and development. Since 2004, YES Rwanda advocated for Youth Employment to be a National priority issue; we have successfully brought the Youth Employment concept as advanced by YES Campaign and UN resolution A/RES/57/165 to the attention of Government of Rwanda. YES Rwanda worked closely with Ministry of Public Service and Labour and Minstry of Youth, Sports and Culture to have a National Action Plan on Youth Employment which was endorsed by the Government on March 14th 2007. A National Steering Committee comprised of five ministries, UNDP, World Bank, YES Rwanda and Trade Union is now in place.
Rwanda is a post-conflict country, having just emerged from genocide and civil strife which killed about 1 million people and left the socioeconomic infrastructure totally destroyed. With a population estimated at 8,128,553 in the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, and a population density of 321 persons per square kilometer, Rwanda is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The population grew from two million in 1962 to over eight million in 2002. An annual growth rate of 3.1 percent means that the population is predominantly young, with significant implications for youth employment.
The problem of youth employment in Rwanda is complex and rooted in the country’s economic performance and political developments since independence in 1962. It is estimated that over 100,000 young people enter the labour market every year in Rwanda. Less than one percent of these are able to find gainful and sustainable employment. This illustrates the growing problem of youth employment in Rwanda.
Unemployment has affected all segments of youth in the country. Both the educated and uneducated youth in rural and urban areas find it difficult to get jobs.
It is within this context that YES Rwanda is attempting to address the problem of youth employment developing well articulated and holistic strategies and actions grounded in national development priorities as defined by the Vision 2020 and the comprehensive National Development framework-EDPRS(Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy).
