The role of the National Youth Development Agency in the implementation of the National Youth Policy

Abstract

Policy implementation is a process where government’s decisions are infused into programmes and rules and an examination of outcomes are made on how and why outcomes were or were not achieved. Programmes become a conduit through which intended services reach intended destinations if all stakeholders involved participate meaningfully and abide by the standards set by the programmes. The standard set by the programmes on how to accomplish policy objectives plays a significant role in paving the way to successful policy implementation. The study seeks to carefully examine the existing gap between the National Youth Policy (NYP) goals within the Skills Development Unit and the National Youth Development Agency’s (NYDA) role in facilitating valid, favourable and realistic policy outcomes through its programmes. The implementation of the programmes will be assessed in this research for the purpose of determining whether they are successful in addressing youth skills development. In as much as the NYDA is not the only government entity responsible for reducing youth unemployment by equipping the youth with job search resources such as introducing the youth to relevant job opportunities or equipping the youth with basic skills required in the job market, it is the main government entity tasked with the responsibility of creating, implementing, facilitating and ensuring that youth development services are available for the purpose of reducing youth unemployment through providing the skills needed to enhance the youth in deriving income in the economy of the country. The qualitative research method applied with the use of self-administered questionnaires in this study aimed to extract relevant information pertaining to the study to be analysed using the 5-C Protocol Model of policy implementation. Recommendations offered by the study emanate from the challenges faced by the NYDA and aim at improving the work of the Agency to effectively implement the NYP