Some of the main causes of the youth employment problem in Ethiopia are lack of skills: low availability of investment, capital, financial management skills; limited market accessibility; overall weather circumstances, and the absence of youth in decision making or implementation of policies affecting them.

Effects of this unemployment are increased poverty. This affects not just youth, but also their families. Families and youth find it increasingly hard to justify investment in further education or in health. Young men and women are more likely to be then:

• Employed in jobs of low quality
• Underemployed
• Working long hours for low wages
• Engaged in dangerous work 
• Involved in only short term and/or informal employment arrangements.

Unproductive, Ethiopia’s youth can feel a sense of hopelessness, and be at great risk for drug and alcohol abuse, delinquency and getting involved in crime. This can also lead to social unrest and civil disobedience. Unemployment and poverty were believed to be the basis for the violent demonstrations by youths in Addis Ababa in April 2001. The incident resulted in deaths and destruction of property worth millions of dollars.

Supporting youth employment can help break the cycle of poverty. It is estimated that creating productive work for young people in sub Saharan Africa could result in a potential GDP increase of 12-19%.

The lack of employment opportunities for Ethiopian young people is among the critical development challenges facing the country and a key barrier to national efforts toward the Millennium Development Goals.

TaYA Success/Job Readiness Center

The TaYA has established Success Center that builds the capacity of Ethiopia’s young women and men to improve their job readiness skills through education, networking, and mentoring.

Talent Youth Association accelerates youth’s job readiness skills by providing the resources, training, and contacts needed for young women and men to enable themselves via entrepreneurship and/or employment.

The project TaYA success Center aimed at providing skills, job training, career mentoring, and guidance on financial planning and management that will improve Ethiopia’s young men and women’s job readiness, making them better prepared to find employment or to create their own business.

TaYA is currently working with Kirkos Sub City Kebele 20/21 Bureau of Youth and Sports by establishing the TaYA Success Center. This center has started providing reading services by establishing a resource area containing business and career planning books. It will also ready to render training, mentoring, and networking opportunities to Ethiopian youth to improve their abilities to obtain employment. The center is expected to have a career counselor to support individuals, computers with internet access, and numerous periodicals. The TaYA Success Center will also offer career building workshops and programs.