Effect of Apprenticeship, Internship and Mentorship Programs on Employment of Young Women in Kenya

Over the years, Kenyan employers have raised concerns on work relevance of the skills possessed by young men and women joining the job market. Data in Kenya shows that women are the most affected in this regard where female participation in the job market is 29.5% compared to their male counterparts at 36%.  Apprenticeship, Internship and Mentorship (AIM) programs have been introduced in Kenya to bridge the gap since they are meant to solve the challenge of non-readiness and unpreparedness for the labor market. Before this study, there was inadequate data on the impact of AIM programmes for women’s economic empowerment (WEE). This study assessed the effect of work readiness programs, specifically apprenticeship, internship and mentorship (AIM) in increasing women’s employment probability or employability.

The main objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of targeted work readiness programs in securing formal and non-formal income generating activities and career progression from a gender perspective. It also assessed the mentorship program designed to encourage female students to pursue STEM fields and to facilitate school to work transitions (SWT) for young women. Public Service Internship Policy (2016) was evaluated to establish its impact on young women’s SWT and employment with a view to ensure WEE in Kenya.

Key Findings

Public Service Internship Program (PSIP) :

1. Young men had a higher probability of being employed than young women.
2. participants in the internship program were more likely to get a job placement than those who did not participate in the internship program.
3. the grade attained at the highest level of education had a significant impact on the employment status of young men and women in Kenya; those with better grades had a higher chance of being employed than those with lower grades.
4. more young people were placed in the services sector than any other sector; the highest number being those that took a STEM course

KYEOP Programme:

1. the program is working; however, young men have a higher probability of being employed or being in self-employment than young women.
2. Those who completed their academic studies in earlier years had a higher probability of being in an employment position than those that completed in recent years. Higher grades have a better chance of yielding better employment outcomes and young men have a higher probability of earning higher levels of income than young women.
3. participants who were married had a better chance of being employed than those that were not married.

Key Policy Recommendations

PSIP Recommendations :

1. Policy intervention to support young women in Kenya in securing job placements. This would include reserving a given percentage of the workforce in an establishment to women.
2. A restructuring of the PSIP to ensure placement and follow-up of the interns to ensure that it meets its aim of enhancing job placements for participants. Measures to be considered in this endeavor include: To ensure that internship placement is aligned to the course taken by the students at university. The purpose is to ensure that the internship will contribute to enabling students to be absorbed in sectors of their specialization; the interns should be facilitated to acquire sector specific certification after successful completion of their internship program to ensure compliance with the requirements of the job market and that there should collaboration between the public and private sector to enhance the rate of job placement for participants who have gone through the program.

• Young women in universities should be encouraged to work hard as better grades can enhance their chances of being employed.

1. Recommends empowerment of young women, both at the university and internship spaces to report and take measures to protect themselves from gender-based violence.

KYEOP Policy Recommendations for both the National and County Government

National Government

1. Ministry of ICT and Youth Affairs through KYEOP office to ensure that accreditation for graduate’s recognition is done. This is by streamlining the harmonization for service providers so that all those who go through the program are certified or to get certificates
2. Government to improve the issue of tax relief to encourage the youths participate in self-employment.

• Affirmative action be instituted to enable more young women to have access to job opportunities since they are currently underrepresented in employment.

County Government

1. Capacity building of supervisors and trainers to be done, there is need for policy implementers to do mapping and vet institutions offering services as respondents  felt they didn’t
2. Students internship placement should be done in relation to the courses taught
3. Need to carry out marketing or public awareness of the KYEOP program to ensure unskilled youths acquire foundational skills
4. To improve on the linkage of school to work transition.
5. Gender sensitivity programs where women in small businesses need to be provided with care givers or child care centers so that they can help look at their children at places of work as well as Sensitizing employers and stakeholders to observe the maternity leave policy

• There is need to develop a capacity building module on self-esteem, confidence building and mentorship plan to walk with them. This can be enhanced through a mentorship program and observing the policy on maternity leave

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