A Cross-Sector Analysis of Youth in Zambia

[Pages:32]zambia

May 2014

YouthMap Assessment

Report

A Cross-Sector Analysis of Youth in Zambia

YouthMap, a program of the International Youth Foundation, is a four-year initiative to assess youth circumstances and support promising youth development programs and practices in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

YouthMap is made possible by the generous support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Cooperative Agreement Number EPP-A-00-08-00006-00. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

The International Youth Foundation (IYF) invests in the extraordinary potential of young people. Founded in 1990, IYF builds and maintains a worldwide community of businesses, governments, and civil-society organizations committed to empowering youth to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. IYF programs are catalysts of change that help young people obtain a quality education, gain employability skills, make healthy choices, and improve their communities.

International Youth Foundation 32 South Street Baltimore, MD 21202 USA

? 2014 International Youth Foundation (IYF). All rights reserved. No portion of this report may be reproduced without prior written permission from IYF.

Zambia is a youthful country, with approximately 74 percent

of its 14 million total population under the age of 30 (28 percent are 15 to 29 years-old).1 Annual population growth rate estimates range from 2.4 to 3 percent, and projections indicate a population of 24.5 million by 2030 according to the 2013 Human Development Report.2 The youth cohort will continue to expand, as "Zambia is experiencing the lowest declines in fertility in the past decades for which data is available, and by 2020-2025 the country is expected to have the highest fertility rate in SADC sub-region."3

Zambian Youth, like many young people in developing countries, face challenges such as high unemployment rates, poor quality of education and educational opportunities, limited civic engagement opportunities, high HIV prevalence rates, teenage pregnancy, and early marriage. In order to try to overcome these issues, the Zambian Government has outlined key priorities in the National Youth Policy, which includes measures to reduce youth unemployment and improve the coordination of national youth programs. However, a lack of resources has severely constrained implementation of this policy.

The YouthMap assessment findings provide a snapshot of the circumstances of young people, providing insights into how they perceive their opportunities and challenges; how other stakeholders perceive young people's situation; and recommendations to increase young Zambians' social and economic wellbeing. The assessment team conducted extensive focus groups and surveys with Zambian youth ages 15 to 29 in three provinces, in addition to interviews and surveys with a broad range of stakeholders from civil society, educational institutions, and the private and public sectors.

Employment: In Zambia, young people make up a significant proportion of the available labor force, yet unemployment rates for 20- to 24-year-olds have been estimated to be as much as five times greater than for older adults.4 The YouthMap assessment found that while many employers are hiring youth, key constraints prevent young people from finding work. These factors include a misalignment of education and labor market needs, lack of experience, nepotism and corruption in the labor market, and a lack of skills and entrepreneurship training. Gender plays a major role in youth employment: certain sectors are considered to be available only for men or women, and young women are more likely to report lower pay or not being paid at all for their work. There are a number of industries emerging in Zambia which, if properly leveraged, have high potential for increasing youth employment, including telecommunications, tourism, and agriculture. Improved internship opportunities were suggested by both employers and youth as an option to gain the experience both groups identified as lacking. Considering only 14 percent of out-of-school YouthMap participants were in formal employment, the potential and need for young people to start their own businesses is high. In order to successfully transition youth into the world of work, young people need more support (e.g., early career guidance), comprehensive technical and entrepreneurial training, and access to finance.

Education: In the last decade, Zambia has made important strides towards improving access to basic education. According to the 2013 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Report, "steady progress" has been made on reaching the target of 100 percent net enrollment in primary education.5 The government aims to guarantee universal access to basic education through the Educating Our Future program. Despite these gains, concerns remain regarding the quality of the education, given large class sizes as well as limited resources for pupils. High dropout rates at the secondary level, particularly for young women, continue to be a challenge. Additionally, access to tertiary education is limited, especially for rural youth. Assessment findings showed that education matters when securing employment: more highly educated youth reported greater confidence in their preparedness and higher incomes. Employers often stated they hire youth with a minimum of secondary school completion. In order to improve their level of preparedness, Zambian youth identified the need to build their reading and writing skills as well as to gain technical skills and computer literacy. Overall, multiple stakeholders across sectors noted that the Zambian curriculum needs to be better aligned to the job market and linkages consistently and actively sought between education institutions and employers.

Health: Young people are one of the most at-risk populations for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The government of Zambia, along with civil society actors, are working to combat this through interventions at community and national levels. Approximately 70 percent of YouthMap participants use family planning or sexual reproductive health (SRH) services. While young people stated that there are available health facilities, many do not find them to be

youth-friendly, as they face stigma and discrimination when trying to access services such as contraception. These problems are compounded by and directly linked to the high prevalence of early marriage and teenage pregnancy, particularly in rural areas where distance and limited resources mean that rural youth have poor access to information and basic health services. The assessment includes reports of transactional sex, driven by poverty and cause of new HIV infections, as particularly common in transit and border towns. Gender based violence (GBV) is common throughout Zambia,6 yet awareness of the issue remains low among young people. In terms of accessing information, radio and TV are the most commonly used and trusted sources among youth, though young people increasingly rely on internet and social media.

Political and Civic Participation: Although young people make up a significant proportion of the population, most YouthMap participants are disengaged from the political process and feel excluded and marginalized. Only 43 percent of young men and 23 percent of young women reported that they participate politically. With few leaders under 40, as well as few opportunities to positively participate in politics or become leaders, many youth have no interest in politics. However, sentiments may be changing; 84 percent of assessment participants stated they plan to vote in the next election. In terms of civic participation, 83 percent of young people interviewed were civically engaged in their communities, primarily through religious activities but also volunteering, sports, and youth groups. Although young people are positively involved in their communities, they have limited leadership roles-- especially young women--and are eager to build their skills and contribute to Zambia's development.

1. U.S. Census Bureau, " (2014), International Data Base." Last modified December 19, 2013. Accessed March 6, 2014, , 2014.

2. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), The Human Development Report 2013, (New York, 2013), 196. 3. United Nations Zambia, The Condition of Young People in Zambia, ( July 2013), 4. 4. Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR), Policy Brief: Constraints on the Demand for Youth Labour in Zambia, (Lusaka: 2013), 1. 5. UNDP, Millennium Development Goals Progress Report Zambia 2013, (Lusaka: 2013), 23. 6. Central Statistical Office (CSO), Ministry of Health (MOH), University of Zambia, and MEASURE Evaluation, Zambia Sexual Behaviour Survey

2009, (Lusaka: 2010).

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YouthMap Zambia

INTRODUCTION

Overview of YouthMap

YouthMap is a four-year program designed to assess youth circumstances and support promising programs and practices in positive youth development in up to eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. YouthMap is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the International Youth Foundation (IYF). The YouthMap assessments are designed to capture a comprehensive picture of the lives of young people, including how they spend their time; how they interact with each other and other segments of society; what services they can access and want to utilize; as well as their hopes, aspirations, and challenges. These assessments investigate opportunities and challenges related to the major life transitions youth face as they move from childhood dependence to adult independent decision-making in the areas of education and learning; employment and livelihoods; health; and democracy and governance. The Zambia assessment is the sixth under YouthMap, following assessments in Senegal, Uganda, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania.

YouthMap Zambia seeks to better understand the opportunities and challenges facing young people ages 15 to 29 by listening to the perspectives of both young people and key stakeholders. The ultimate goal is to inform USAID planning and programming. IYF partnered with the local research firm Ipsos Zambia to conduct this assessment. Young people formed an integral part of the team as research assistants in the field and contributed their local knowledge to help test and finalize the research tools. A selection of young people also participated in a youth peer review committee that reviewed the findings and provided further analysis (see Peer Review Report, Annex 5). In addition, five targeted briefs accompany this report to deepen and focus on issues of particular interest to USAID: youth conditions in Eastern Province and Lusaka, transactional sex and young people, youth and the private sector, and motivators of civic participation.

Methodology

The YouthMap Zambia assessment had four objectives:

1. Better understand the opportunities, challenges, and aspirations of young people;

2. Assess youth-serving infrastructure and services; 3. Identify and share successful models, lessons,

and strategies to promote youth development; 4. Recommend options for youth programming

and integrating youth into USAID activities.

YouthMap used a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data from youth and a range of key stakeholders. Extensive secondary research (see Literature Review, Annex 1) was conducted to inform the primary research and to provide the macro picture of the environment in which youth live and work.

Primary data collection was carried out over a fourweek period in six districts across three provinces: Lusaka (Peri-urban and Chongwe district), Southern (Livingstone and Monze districts) and Eastern (Chipata and Petauke districts). These districts were selected by USAID/Zambia to access information on priority regions vis-?-vis the Mission portfolio. The assessment targeted these regions and youth cohorts to provide a snapshot of the youth situation in order to gain critical perspectives and insights, and are not intended to be nationally representative.

To capture youth voices firsthand, YouthMap conducted focus groups, surveys, case studies, and interviews with more than 450 youth in Zambia:

? Focus groups included 132 in-school youth, 128 employed youth, 55 HIV infected/affected youth, and 114 inactive/out-of-school/unemployed youth.

? Focus group participants completed a survey that helped collect demographic data as well as data related to the focus sectors.

A Cross-Sector Analysis of Youth in Zambia

3

? The assessment team interviewed 21 youth identified as "positive role models." Role models are young people who have displayed positive knowledge, behaviors and attitudes in their lives; have overcome difficult life circumstances; have demonstrated leadership skills; and are admired in their communities by peers.

? YouthMap researchers conducted case studies with 12 youth identified during the fieldwork as representing a particular theme or cohort; their stories appear throughout the report to provide further context.

Using semi-structured interview guides, YouthMap conducted interviews with 52 key stakeholders from the government, private sector, civil society, donor organizations, and education institutions most informed about youth conditions in Zambia. To obtain more data on the perspective of employers, YouthMap also surveyed and interviewed 49 companies in target growth sectors including agriculture, tourism, retail, telecommunications, and construction.

YOUTH POLICY and INVESTMENT AT A GLANCE

In a speech to the National Assembly in 2011, President Michael Chilufya Sata stated: "the majority of our youth have poor education, lack formal skills, and consequently remain without jobs which would enable them to earn a living and hence contribute to national development." The Zambian Government has a number of policies and strategies aimed at promoting youth-centered development. Perhaps the most significant of these is the recently updated National Youth Policy, which defines youth as individuals between the ages of 15 and 35 and provides a legal framework for youth participation in the economic, social, and civic life within Zambia. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and Child Development (MSYCD), the policy is ambitious and aims to reach young people throughout Zambia, though implementation has been severely constrained by a lack of funding and personnel within the ministry. Other national policy, such as Vision 2030 and the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP), does little to incorporate youth into Zambia's wider development strategies.

Other relevant policies include the National Gender Policy and National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence, which seek to combat gender inequality and improve the status and opportunities for women and adolescent girls. In the education sector, Educating Our Future, the National Education Policy aims to ensure universal access to basic education, and the Education Sector National Implementation Framework III re-introduces free, compulsory education from grades 1 to 12. Within the health sector, the National HIV/AIDS/ STI/TB Policy and the National Action Plan on Women, Girls, and HIV/AIDS protect the rights of children and young people and ensure access to information and services for HIV prevention and care.

Within the donor community, a number of donors provide assistance for youth-related programs, although these programs may not always be targeted specifically at young people. USAID, the Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations, International Labour Organization (ILO), and African Development Bank (Af DB) invest in a number of sectors. DFID programming is designed to support improved governance and health as well as to contribute to agriculture, education, and infrastructure. A particular focus for DFID is ensuring that its programs address the interests and needs of adolescent girls and women. The ILO and Af DB Zambia released a comprehensive study on youth employment. This study outlines the challenges facing young people within the labor force in Africa as well as the strategies the ILO is implementing to try and overcome youth unemployment (e.g., policy advisory services, skills development, entrepreneurship training, and advocacy). The ILO also implements the ILO Youth Project, which aims to tackle youth unemployment, while UNICEF implements the Zambia U-report, which promotes youth participation in the national HIV response.

USAID supports a wide range of activities, including HIV programming through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), agriculture through the U.S. Government's Feed the Future Initiative, improving the quality of basic education, strengthening democracy and governance, and improving health services.

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YouthMap Zambia

90

percentage of

labor force in

informal sector

(UN)

YOUTH AT A GLANCE

16.6

Zambia's median age;

9th in the world

(UN)

300,000

number of youth leaving school at grades

9 and 12 per year (NIF III)

53.5

percent of youth

(15?24) who could

obtain a condom

(CSO)

16

percent of youth familiar with

National Youth Policy (Restless

Development)

Male

Zambia -- 2014

Female

100+ 95?100 90?94 85?89 80?84 75?79 70?74 65?69 60?64 55?59 50?54 45?49 40?44 35?39 30?34 25?29 20?24 15?19 10?14

5?9 0?4

2 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.4 0

0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2

Population (millions)

Age Group

Population (millions)

Not in Labor Force or Education Ages 15 to 35

15

12

9

6

3

4.9

0

Male (%)

13.4

Female (%)

Literacy Rates Ages 15 to 24

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

70.3

58.5

0

Male

Female

(%)

(%)

HIV/AIDS Prevalence Rate

12

10

8

6

4

2

4.9

13.4

0 Ages 15-19

Male

Ages 20-24

Female

Registered Voters and Population, 2011

50

40

30

20

10 4.9

13.4

0 Ages 18-24

Ages 25-35

Above 35

Registered Voters in 2011 Percentage of Population

A Cross-Sector Analysis of Youth in Zambia

5

Assessment Findings

The following sections provide analysis on the status of Zambian youth from the perspective of various youth cohorts and multiple stakeholders, in the following key areas: economic opportunities and challenges for youth; education and training opportunities for youth and constraints within the education sector; youth focused interventions in the area of sexual and reproductive health; and the level of engagement of young people in Zambia's governance and within civil society.

Snapshot of YouthMap participants:

? 50% male and female ? 53% urban / 47% rural ? Age breakdown:

? 33% ages 15?18 ? 41% ages 19?24 ? 26% ages 25?29

Employment/Entrepreneurship and the Environment

Background Zambia's population is one of the youngest in the world, with a median age of 16.6 years (compared to a global average of 29.2), and is projected to be one of the three youngest countries in the world.7 Estimates vary depending on how unemployment is measured and the age cohort used, but youth unemployment is significantly high--ranging from two to five times higher than for adults.8 According to the 2008 Labor Force Survey, 15- to 34-year-olds make up 65 percent of the working population, and youth unemployment was estimated at 28 percent.9 The 2012 African Economic Outlook found that unemployment was much higher among urban youth than rural youth and higher among young women than men.10 A 2010 Central Statistic Office survey supported this finding, observing five percent unemployment for rural youth (ages 20 to 24, and six percent of men / four percent of women) compared to 45 percent unemployment for urban youth (42 percent of men and 47 percent of women).11 Additionally, the majority of young people with jobs are in informal employment, with 90 percent of the overall labor force in the informal sector, 71 percent of which is in agriculture.12

In terms of government policy, a National Action Plan on Youth Employment (developed with support from the ILO) is expected to be released by the government in the near future. Currently two key interventions aim at improving access to credit for young people: the National Youth Development Fund and the Citizen's Economic Empowerment Commission Fund. However, only a limited number of young people access these funds due to a lack of understanding of the application procedures. A young man in Lusaka illustrated this point: "Yes, I heard the Minister is giving out loans, but for us here in the compound we don't know how we can get hold of these. We don't hear what to do." The World Bank indicates that achieving the government's aim to create one million formal jobs over the course of the five-year SNDP will be challenging given the size and composition of the rapidly growing13 five million strong labor force.14

Findings: The Economic Activities of Young People Figure 1 shows the employment rates for out-of-school youth, 49 percent of whom could be classified as not in education, employment, or training (NEET). Nine percent were employed full-time (mostly older youth) and five percent part-time. Other young people worked on a family business (seven percent) or as casual laborers. More than one-quarter were self-employed.

Figure 1: Employment Status of Out of School Youth

5%

9%

49%

26%

7%

4%

Employed full-time Self-employed Casual laborer Employed part-time Family business Not working

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YouthMap Zambia

As seen in Figure 2, the number of young people working increased with age. Of the participants, the 15 to 18 age group was mostly in-school and not engaged in employment. Employment figures greatly improved for the 25 to 29 age group, while those 19 to 24 were particularly vulnerable to unemployment and tended to be involved in informal activities. This observation is supported by focus group discussions and interviews, where YouthMap participants said that the majority of working young people is in the informal sector, as there are few opportunities for full-time salaried work.

Figure 2: Youth Employment Status

In-school & Not Working In-school & Working

Not-in-school & Working Not-in-school & Not Working

Age 25-29 6% 16%

55%

23%

Age 19-24

31%

6%

28%

35%

Age 15-18

68%

4% 7% 22%

Location also helps determine the type of work and sector in which youth were engaged (e.g., youth were more likely to be in tourism in Livingstone). Seventeen percent of employed youth were involved in agriculture, primarily in the rural areas, in activities including rearing livestock and trading. Although many young people were not opposed to working in agriculture, it is not their preferred sector partly due to the strenuous labor demands and limited income given the seasonal nature of the work. In such cases, young people wanted to supplement their income with other income-generating activities such as trading and rearing poultry. The youth peer review committee identified the negative stigma towards agriculture despite scholarships being available from NGOs and government. While many youth are involved in agriculture, the committee said this is not through choice but necessity due to the lack of other options, particularly in rural areas.

Despite the fact that only 10 percent of jobs in Zambia are in the formal sector,15 young people generally wanted to work in the formal sector for the prestige, higher wages, and consistent income16 compared to the informal sector. Both nursing and teaching were popular and desirable forms of employment in both urban and rural areas, particularly for women. Other popular sectors for young job seekers were the telecommunications industry and mining.17 Urban areas offered a much wider range of income-generating activities across public and private sectors. Other popular jobs for women were trading, retail, hairdressing, and beauty. Young women were also interested in working in the tourism industry, particularly in Livingstone, as well as catering, tailoring, and administrative services. It was mentioned that, particularly in tourism, employers prefer to employ women as it was culturally more acceptable for them to fill available jobs as housekeepers and receptionists. Trading was also common for men, though men and women tended to trade in different goods. Women were more likely to sell food and clothing, while men were more likely to sell airtime, electrical goods, newspapers, and DVDs. Other jobs--such as taxi and bus driving, those in the construction and engineering fields, and car mechanics--were almost exclusively male. These jobs were seen to be more physically difficult, and in the case of driving buses and taxis, too dangerous for women.

Findings: Key Growth Sectors and Opportunities

Table 1. Employer perspective of job-market

High Job Opportunities

Low Job Opportunities

High Pay

? ICT/telecom

? Skilled construction

? Skilled mining

? Public sector (education, social work)

Low Pay ? Agriculture ? Tourism ? Construction

? Retail ? Manufacturing

As seen in Table 1, employers in several expanding industries felt that young people would have many opportunities in their sectors. For example, employers in the construction sector identified formal and skilled jobs (e.g., architecture) as well as many unskilled

A Cross-Sector Analysis of Youth in Zambia

7

opportunities (e.g., bricklaying and brick molding). Likewise, employers identified agriculture as a key priority for the government, and so more investments are being made in this sector in the form of seed and fertilizer for small scale farmers and agribusinesses. Other growing sectors providing employment opportunities included telecommunications, financial services, tourism as well as arts and entertainment. Employers working in manufacturing, as well as in the public sector, felt limited expansion in the sector was the cause for fewer hires.

Table 2: GDP growth projections, by main sectors, 2013?15 (Percent)18

Sectors Electricity, gas, and water Construction Transport, storage, and communications Restaurants, bars, and hotels Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Agriculture, forestry, and fishing Wholesale and retail Financial institutions and insurance

2013 4.0 12.0 11.8

12.0 12.0 6.5 -7.4

3.8 8.0

2014 11.6 11.0 13.4

2015 18.1 11.0 10.2

11.0 10.0

13.1 8.2

6.6

5.9

3.3

5.6

4.5

5.0

5.0

5.0

While employers' perspective on growing job opportunities, for the most part, aligned with formal growth projections (Table 2), some may have focused more on the shorter-term opportunities (e.g., construction and financial services). Employers' insight into on-theground job opportunities were invaluable, and should be paired with secondary research in order to triangulate short- and longer-term job opportunities for youth.

Each region had different growth prospects: employers in Livingstone identified growth in the tourism sector; those in Eastern Province identified the agricultural sector; and Lusaka employers identified a number of sectors including construction and telecommunications. In fields such as telecommunications, most available jobs were for higher skilled applicants, whereas youth in construction and agriculture are primarily offered lower skilled jobs, although there are also opportunities for skilled youth.

Of the private sector firms interviewed, 96 percent had youth employees, and 86 percent were planning to hire new people in the next 12 months. Approximately 55 percent of the firms' current employees were under 30 years old, and employers identified two-thirds of them as skilled workers. Employers estimated that 75 percent of those they would hire would be under age 30. While some firms said they would hire less than 50 percent youth, there was no identifiable trend by industry.

Findings: Quality of Jobs Entry-level jobs include technicians, call center operators, cashiers, and sales representatives. Eighty percent of employers assessed the quality of entrylevel jobs as at least "fair" in terms of salary, benefits, and professional growth opportunities (see Figure 3). Those who felt opportunities were "good" said the entry jobs they offered gave the opportunity for someone to progress and offered salaries they felt to be better than their competitors'. For those who felt opportunities were "poor," reasons included a lack of opportunity to progress, stressful working conditions, long hours, and low salaries.

Figure 3: Quality of Entry Level Jobs--Employer Perspective

6% 6% 14%

37% 37%

Very Poor Poor Fair Good Very Good

Young people reported they would appreciate a job where they are able to gain experience and earn enough to cover their basic needs (e.g., not having to spend the majority of their salary on transport costs). Young people felt that jobs with low salaries tended to be in rural areas (where the cost of living is lower) and were generally for unskilled work.

Working youth were asked whether they received pay or compensation for their work. Women were considerably more likely than men to be unpaid (25 percent of working young women versus 10 percent of

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YouthMap Zambia

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