Kenya National Youth Service on the Spotlight

Kenya NYS was established in 1964 through an Act of parliament to train young people to be patriotic, self-reliant and self-disciplined. In 2019, the NYS was transformed from a State Department to a fully-fledged semi-autonomous state corporation after enactment of NYS Act 2018 by the Kenyan Parliament. Before the late 1980s, students had to participate in the NYS before admission into universities. In 2013, the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta began restructuring of the NYS to solve the high youth unemployment in Kenya. The rebranded NYS was launched in September 2014 which allows for recruitment of community youths, who did not have to attend the paramilitary training to be involved with the works of the NYS. About 30,000 youth are recruited annually and trained in various skills (paramilitary, engineering, fashion and design, business management, catering, agriculture, secretarial, plant operation, construction, driving) and, prepared for other national matters such as service in the armed forces, national reconstruction and disaster response. These remain relevant to date.