ROLE OF YOUTH IN ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT

Designing and producing products, selling services, paying taxes, making consumer choices, critiquing
marketing, and saving money are some of the ways young people affect the economy. Through education,
action and empowerment, youth engagement in economics can lead to social transformation and
engagement in range of ways.
The youth can also actively participate as workers, managers and entrepreneurs to support the economic
recovery through the creation of new products and services using technology and other platforms.The
federal and provincial governments have taken several steps for youth participation and empowerment
over the years. These have included introducing youth-friendly policies and initiatives, such as loan and
laptop awarding schemes, internship programmes, financial funds, entrepreneurship initiatives, vocational
training programmes, several skills and leadership trainings.
• Youth Creating Economies Youth creating economies are responsible for creating, designing, producing,
marketing, selling and re-investing in things they care about, in ways they care for. This can change the
world in powerful ways by fostering dynamic, disruptive new ways.
• YOUTH MOTIVATORS Instead of piping false hope across social media and television, young people can
promote practical hopefulness to support youth action.
• YOUTH AS TEACHERS Young people can teach their peers, younger people and adults about mindsets
focused on economics. This can include community workshops for youth and adults, building lessons in
how we think into early childhood development programs, teaching educators teach about learning
styles and mindsets, and more.
There are several ways in which the youth of a country can help in its economic development.
Labour Force:
As soon as you reach the legal age of work, you start contributing as a member of the labour force, no matter what
sector; the more the youth, the higher the working population.
Consumers:
After working, you spend some of your income purchasing goods and services. You play an important role in keeping the
butcher in business.
Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
We cannot all work for others and as such, some of us will start their own businesses. This helps the country in producing
goods and services, creating employment opportunities for others and paying taxes to the state.
CHALLENGES
• Education, for example, is a major challenge, especially when it comes to technical skills such as carpentry and
plumbing.
• Unemployment is itself a gnawing issue. We all know a deserving person, who, perhaps, has pursued postgraduate
education but are unemployed.
• Political uncertainty and policies further compound the challenges facing the youth today. Many of us pay little
attention to politics and policies, yet they either make our efforts easier or more difficult.
After reflecting on all these problems, you might be wondering what can be done to salvage the situation. As the youth
in particular, we can play our part by creating networks with like-minded individuals who will support our businesses,
recommend us for job opportunities and even provide us with seed capital for our startups.