WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE? Education and work aspirations among the Ugandan youth Aziz Atamanov, Frédéric Cochinard, John Ilukor, Audrey Kemigisha, Andrew Mupere, and Giulia Ponzini Audrey Kemigisha and Andrew Mupere are with Uganda Bureau of Statistics and the remaining authors are with the World Bank. The corresponding author is Aziz Atamanov: aatamanov@worldbankorg. The authors are thankful to Uganda Bureau of Statistics for continuous collaboration. We also appreciate guidance and support from Keith E. Hansen, Rosemary Mukami Kariuki, Eva Liselotte Lescrauwaet, Franklin Mutahakana, and Pierella Paci. © [2024] International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. 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Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. Cover photo: © Rachel Mabala KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS • High education and career aspirations are important than raising the aspirational usually associated with higher outcomes bar in Uganda. Raising aspirations for under the right conditions and efforts. the poorest and those Not in Education, Most of the Ugandan youth aspire to Employment, or Training (NEET) is an achieve upper secondary or tertiary exception though. education and get high-skilled and well-paid dream jobs when they reach • Given the current and future 30 years old. predominant role of agriculture, it is essential to transform agriculture into • Despite high educational aspirations, a more attractive sector with better currently, only a small share of adults in opportunities for the rural youth. the country achieves upper secondary Accelerating agricultural transformation and tertiary education. The youth and commercialization by facilitating the reported different constraints, with lack of usage of modern inputs, technologies, money being one of the key reasons why developing food agribusiness and food young people dropped out of school and value chains will be crucial. This process failed to achieve aspirational education. should be complemented with developing skills in modern agricultural production, • The distribution of constraints is very marketing, and value addition techniques. unequal, with the poorest youth facing more monetary constraints than the • Providing young people with accurate rich. Marriage, pregnancy, and family information about labor market prospects obligations are critical constraining factors and career counseling with regular for the female youth. monitoring are good mechanisms to share information about labor market • The most popular dream jobs among needs and opportunities. This can help to the youth are typically high-skilled better align aspirations with reality and occupations such as medical workers, raise aspirations among aspirations-poor technicians, and teachers, which require youth (e.g., NEET, poor). at least secondary education. Working on the farm is not viewed as a dream • Affordable and widespread job. Growing demand for good jobs is in telecommunication services will be line with growing non-farm opportunities crucial to promote technology-based during the last decade, but there are empowerment among the youth and still many barriers to accessing them, facilitate precision or digital agriculture especially for the poorest individuals. which relies on technologies to improve yields and make management decisions. • Helping individuals to achieve aspirations Equipped with digital skills and access to by addressing the structural constraints telecommunication services, the youth and providing the tools necessary to will have much broader and better paid realize their goals seems to be more labor market opportunities. 1 INTRODUCTION Uganda is entering the early stage of the reality may discourage a person to aspire demographic transition with a growing significant changes in life and act accordingly population and substantial changes in (Gardiner and Goedhuys 2020, Chen and demographic composition. For example, Hesketh 2021). the working-age population (aged 15-59) is expected to expand significantly from 25 million This brief discusses results from the survey of people in 2022 to 55 million in 2050, while the youth population in Uganda using results the youth population aged 15-24 is projected from the Uganda High-Frequency Phone to increase from 10 to 17 million during this Survey (UHFPS). UHFPS has been collected period. Given that majority of the working-age by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in population in Uganda are currently employed collaboration with the World Bank since June in agriculture or self-employment activities with 2020. The fourteenth round conducted in low productivity, there is an urgent need to help August/September 2023 included questions millions of young people to find decent work to capture education and career aspirations of (World Bank 2020). the youth population aged 15-25. The survey recontacts the sample of households that had Understanding the education and career phone numbers for at least one household aspirations of the youth is essential to develop member or a reference individual from the effective employment policies because they Uganda National Panel Survey 2019/20 and the can drive choices in education, employment, Uganda National Household Survey 2019/20. and job-seeking efforts (Lybbert and Wydick The youth aspiration module of round 14th 2018). Aspirations are idealistic values that included randomly selected 936 individuals reflect the achievement that one hopes between aged 15-25. The sample is split equally and desires to achieve. Some studies point between female and male respondents. out that aspiration measures may be a Fifty-six percent of the respondents are stronger predictor of later life achievements between 15 to 18 years old, 28 percent are in comparison to other established between 19-22 and the remaining 18 percent determinants, for instance, non-cognitive skills are between 23-25 years old. The data or fathers’ occupational background (see, for collected is nationally representative. Similar example, Lekfuangfu and Odermatt 2022). modules were administered in four other African countries including Ethiopia, Malawi, It is important that not all aspirations are and Nigeria during COVID-19 (Costa, Contreras going to materialize though. When aspirations & Palacios-Lopez 2022). Where possible, are aligned with what people believe can selected results for Uganda will be compared be achieved based on circumstances and to these countries. efforts, aspirations turn into expectations, and successful outcomes are more likely to The brief is organized as follows. We start happen. Comparing reported aspirations and by discussing the current education and reality may signal how aspirations are aligned activity status of youth. Then, we switch to a with beliefs on what can be achieved given discussion of education and work aspirations. circumstances and efforts. Too narrow or Finally, we conclude and provide some policy too large a distance between aspirations and recommendations. 2 CURRENT EDUCATION AND ACTIVITY STATUS OF THE YOUTH The majority of the youth have primary richest consumption quintile have significantly education and below. About 50 percent of higher chances to surpass their parents’ the youth have some primary education and maximum level of education compared to the below without substantial differences between youth from the poorest quintile (37 versus males and females. The youth in urban areas 20 percent). High absolute mobility was also are better educated than the youth in rural observed among the youth in the Eastern areas. The youth respondents from the region. One potential explanation can be that poorest consumption quintile have much education level was very low among parents lower education levels than those from the of respondents in the Eastern region, creating richest top quintile. For example, 24 percent of a greater scope to surpass them by their those from the richest quintile reported having children. Another potential reason may be some upper secondary education or above, related to the limited economic opportunities while among the poorest this level barely in the region prompting parents to consider reached six percent (Figure 1). education as a vehicle to secure the future of their children. Only 30 percent of the youth who finished studying surpassed the maximum About ten percent of Ugandan youth were education level their parents achieved. not in school or working (NEET), and this This indicator serves as a proxy for absolute share grows to almost twenty percent intergeneration mobility. Figure 2 also shows among the youth aged 23-25. Over half of that those youth respondents from the the youth studied in September 2023, and the Figure 1. Education level among youth by different Figure 2. Share of youth who finished studying and who characteristics (%) surpassed the highest parental education category (%)* 8 7 8 6 12 12 11 10 21 19 24 22 23 35 34 37 34 40 50 41 44 40 27 51 55 46 43 47 42 42 36 33 35 30 28 24 24 31 21 41 24 28 20 37 19 16 9 11 11 7 11 5 2 4 6 National Rural Urban Male Female Central Eastern Northern Western Poorest Richest Rural Urban Male Female Central Eastern Northern Western Q1 Q5 Area Gender Region Consumption Area Gender Region Consumption quintiles quintiles No education Primary and below Share of youth who surpassed parental education National Lower secondary Upper secondary and tertiary Notes: Quintiles are based on using consumption per adult equivalent spatially adjusted by regional poverty lines from UNPS 2019/20 and UNHS 2019/20. Quintiles are constructed by using phone survey sample. Values may not add to 100 percent due to rounding. 3 remaining 39 percent were working (Figure 3). The majority of those who left school did this As expected, the share of youth working is because of a lack of money or the overall increasing across age groups, while the share expensiveness of school or university. The of studying youth is declining as they finish youth respondents from the poorest quintile or drop out of school. The rural youth were (78 percent) were more likely to mention this slightly more likely to work than the urban reason than the youth respondents from the ones (40 versus 36 percent respectively). richest quintile (60 percent). Every fifth female The poorest youth were less likely to study youth stopped studying because of marriage, than the richest ones: 39 versus 59 percent, domestic obligations, or pregnancy (Figure 4). respectively. The share of NEETs among those Death of parents and separation were not aged 23-25 (19 percent) was comparable to negligible reasons for not studying for female the one in Malawi (21 percent), slightly higher respondents, respondents in rural areas and than in Nigeria (14 percent), but much lower those living in the Northern region accounting than in Ethiopia (39 percent). for more than eight, seven, and 12 percent of all cases accordingly. Figure 3. Activity status among youth by different Figure 4. Main reasons for not studying among youth (%) characteristics (%) National 51 39 10 National 67 13 5 15 Rural 50 40 10 Rural 65 13 7 15 Area Urban 54 36 10 Area Urban 70 13 2 16 Male 50 42 8 Gender Male 79 33 15 Female 52 35 13 Gender Central 52 38 9 Female 54 23 8 15 Eastern 58 29 12 Central 65 8 3 25 Region Northern 50 40 10 Eastern 71 11 1 17 Western 46 44 10 Region Northern 63 16 12 8 Poorest 39 46 15 Quintiles Richest 60 31 10 Western 68 16 4 11 15-18 71 23 6 Poorest 77 9 6 7 Age 19-22 37 50 13 Quintiles group Richest 60 18 1 22 23-25 18 64 19 Lack of money, too expensive Pregnancy/married, domestic obligation Studying Working Not in school or work Death of parents or separation Other Note: Values may not add to 100 percent due to rounding. Note: Values may not add to 100 percent due to rounding. 4 EDUCATION AND WORK ASPIRATIONS The aspirational education level is main reasons for not reaching aspirational remarkably high, with more than half of education compared to male youth. the youth listing a university degree to be achieved if there were no constraints, Looking at the career plans of the youth and they could study as long as they attending school, most would like to wanted. A much higher share of youth continue their education or work as respondents from the richest consumption employees, with almost nobody planning quintiles wanted to achieve tertiary education to work on the farm. Figure 5 shows career than the those from the poorest quintile: aspirations among the youth who are currently 77 versus 45 percent accordingly. Such a studying. About 41 percent of them want to high aspirational level may be related to the study further, 36 percent prefer to work as highest expected returns to tertiary education. employees in private or public firms, while Indeed, according to the Word Bank (2023), the highest consumption returns to education are among the households where the head Figure 5. Carrier aspiration after completing education has a university degree. Consumption among for those who are still studying (%) these households was more than 95 percent higher than consumption of households with National 16 3 36 41 4 an uneducated head. However, completed secondary and completed primary education Rural 18 2 40 35 4 generate significant gains as well- 57 and Area 31 percent, respectively. 10 3 26 54 Urban 6 The distance between aspirational and Male 20 2 36 39 4 actual education is high, with lack of Gender money being the key constraint. Indeed, Female 12 4 36 43 5 only 12 percent of youth respondents have achieved upper secondary or tertiary Poorest 18 41 38 3 education so far. At the national level, Quintiles only eight percent of the adult population achieved post-secondary education in 2019/20 Richest 12 4 31 48 6 (UBOS 2021a). This signals about significant barriers toward achieving aspirational 15-18 16 2 35 42 5 tertiary education levels among the youth. When asked about the main constraints for Age 19-22 19 7 40 31 4 group achieving aspirational education, the majority mention lack of money (66 percent), followed 23-25 9 34 57 by domestic obligation or pregnancy (10 percent), death of parents (5.5 percent), and Start business or work in family business Farm Employee, intern other reasons. Female youth were significantly Further education Do not know, do not plan to work or study, other more likely to mention domestic obligation/ Note: Values may not add to 100 percent due to rounding. pregnancy and death of parents as the 5 16 percent want to open a business or work in markets, well-being, and returns to education the existing family business. Notably, almost across rural and urban areas. Compared to nobody plans to work on a farm. This contrasts other countries, 42 percent of youth aiming to with the reality where about 61 percent of study further at age 15-18 in Uganda is higher Ugandans work in agriculture according to than in Ethiopia (30 percent), but lower than in UBOS (2021b). Even though the share of Malawi (68 percent) and Nigeria (76 percent). employment in agriculture was declining during the last decade (World Bank 2023), The most popular jobs among the youth are non-farm opportunities are not widespread typically high-skilled occupations such as and often are not accessible to those with low medical workers, technicians, and teachers levels of education or those living in depressed and require at least secondary education. agricultural areas. This may constrain non- Besides career plans, the youth respondents farm career aspirations, especially those who answered a question about dream job they are poor. want to reach by 30 years old. Figure 6 shows the distribution of dream jobs, and the most Notable differences in career plans are popular occupations are medical workers (27.2), also observed among the youth living in technicians/engineers (15.6 percent), teachers rural and urban areas. About 60 percent of (12.1), sales/business (7.5 percent), economists/ the rural youth plan to work after completing lawyers (6.2 percent), tailors (5.4) with other education, while among the urban youth, this occupations accounting for less than five share was much lower – about 40 percent. percent including agriculture. There is a clear This can be related to differences in labor gender bias in selected occupations (Figure 7). Figure 6. Distribution of dream jobs Figure 7. Distribution of dream jobs by gender 1,4% Computer 2,3% Driver 29 1,1% Construction Technician/engineer 2 19 1% Carpenter Medical worker 2,4% Artist 36 10 Teacher 0,3% Journalist 14 2,4% Policemen or army 8 Sales, business 7 27,7% 8 Medical worker Other 3,8% Agriculture 7 5 Agriculture 2 3,8% 5 Beauty industry Driver 0 5 Policemen or army 0 5,4% Tailor 4 Economist or lawyer 8 2 6,2% Computer 1 Economist or lawyer Construction 0 2 1 Artist 7,4% 3 Other 1 Carpenter 1 7,5% 1 Beauty industry 7 Sales, business 0 Journalist 0 0 Tailor 15,6% 11 12,1% Technician/ Teacher engineer Male Female 6 Thus, male youth are more likely than female of money” with a much higher share among youth to dream about being technicians or those who are currently studying. About engineer (29 versus 2 percent), working in 36 percent of respondents selected using the police or army (five versus zero percent), skills and ability, while 37 percent think that or being a driver (five versus zero percent). being interesting is an important characteristic In contrast, female youth are more likely to of a dream job. Interestingly, only 29 percent dream about working in the beauty industry, of the rural youth selected using skills and being medical workers or tailors than males. ability as an important characteristic of a There are not large rural/urban differences dream job compared to 40 percent among the with regards to dream jobs, but the rural urban youth. Status of the work is important youth are more likely to dream about working for 17 percent of the youth, but with a as a teacher than the urban youth (14 versus much smaller share among those who are 7.4 percent accordingly) and medical workers not studying or working (five percent only). (28.4 versus 24.2 percent accordingly). “Earning a lot of money” is the most important While the urban youth are slightly more characteristic for respondents in Uganda and likely to dream about working as a driver, is comparable to Malawi (50 percent), but it police officers, technicians/engineers, and in is lower than in Nigeria (60 percent). While computer industry. in Ethiopia, “being interesting” was more important characteristic of dream work for “Earning a lot of money” is the most the youth than earning a lot of money. Having relevant feature of the dream job high salary/income as the top characteristic followed by using skills and abilities of a dream job in developing countries is not and having an interesting job. Figure 8 surprising given the hierarchy of needs: once shows multiple responses to the question financial needs are met, other interests and about characteristics of a dream job. About needs can begin to emerge (Gardiner and 46 percent of the youth selected “earning a lot Goedhuys 2020). Figure 8. Characteristics of dream jobs by activity status* (%) 46 37 32 17 9 9 8 8 8 38 39 30 21 15 5 50 43 37 37 26 31 10 8 5 5 12 17 6 11 16 6 11 8 7 8 6 Be interesting People highly Earn Use skills and Have Role in Have an easy Ablility to work Family-friendly regard its status a lot of money abilities job security decision-making pace of work independently Studying Working Not in school or work Overall average Note: Multiple answers were allowed. 7 Respondents reported the key factors or career aspirations for those still studying. influencing their image of a dream job. Even though not strictly comparable, family and Family and friends play the most crucial role friends played less significant role in Malawi, in imagining a dream job (Figure 9). Having Nigeria, and Ethiopia. In these countries, high a respected profession/occupation is an interest and expected enjoyment from the work important factor in determining the dream job were more important than in Uganda. Figure 9. Most important factors influenced youth to imagine dream job (%) 35 15 19 12 12 7 32 21 20 10 14 4 40 10 18 13 10 9 28 6 24 13 11 19 Total Studying Working Not in school or work Family and friends around me It is a highly respected profession My high interest in this field/expected enjoyment of the job The high suitability of my skills for this job The high pay or good benefits that come with this job Other factors Only one out of five currently working youth Those who are still studying, those from the workers has a dream work. The lowest share richest quintile and those who personally know of workers who are doing a dream work is someone in the community having a dream observed in the Eastern region (seven percent job are more likely to think positively about only). Despite such a low level of having a dream achieving dream job at some point. NEET youth job, many youth respondents expect that they respondents have notably lower expectations will have their dream job someday – 58 percent. about achieving dream job one day. Figure 10. Share of working individuals doing dream Figure 11. Share of youth who believe that they are job (%) likely to achieve dream job one day* (%) 18 18 17 21 7 18 19 19 18 58 42 71 74 42 36 61 52 National Male Female Central Eastern Northern Western Poorest Richest National Poorest Richest Studying Working NEET Yes No Gender Region Quintiles Quintiles Current status Know someone in community that has ‘dream’ job? Note: *Only those who are not doing dream job 8 Lack of money is viewed as the most among the respondents from the poorest important constraining factor towards a consumption quintile. Lack of money was much dream job. Respondents were asked about more important than lack of adequate skills the two most important constraining factors to and education, selected by only 17 percent achieve a dream job (Figure 12). of respondents. These views may discourage education efforts even though many More than 75 percent of them mentioned respondents selected tertiary education as an a lack of money, with a slightly higher share aspirational goal. Figure 12. The two most important constraints to realizing your dream job (%) 77 8 7 8 17 7 80 10 6 3 25 8 75 8 13 11 14 9 Total Poorest Richest Lack of money Domestic obligation Lack of connections No difficulty Lack of adequate Lack of capital to or acquaintances skills/education start a business Gender norms may constrain work believes that people from their community are opportunities for women, especially the likely to think/speak badly if married women poorest ones. For example, about 30 percent return home from work after 5 pm – 45 percent. of the youth think that it is not ok for women There is no difference across genders, but the to work outside home. Men are significantly youth from the poorest consumption quintile are more likely to think so than women: 36 versus more likely to support this claim than the youth 26 percent. Even the larger share of the youth from the richest quintile (44 versus 32 percent). Figure 13. It is not ok for married women to work outside home and share of respondents who think that people from the community they live are likely to think/speak badly if married women return home from work after 5 pm in the evening 31 45 36 46 26 44 23 33 29 44 41 57 32 47 36 45 30 32 National Male Female Central Eastern Northern Western Poorest Richest Gender Region Quintiles Not ok for married women to work outside home People from community are likely to think/speak badly if married women return home from work after 5 pm 9 Over two-thirds of the youth respondents Figure 14. Willingness to migrate and the distribution of preferred destinations (%) consider leaving their community to look for better job opportunities. Males are 10 1 8 11 9 1 12 11 7 12 more likely to consider leaving the community 24 23 22 32 25 than female youth: 76 versus 66 percent. The 76 26 77 80 28 71 72 31 willingness to migrate is also significantly 66 64 higher among the youth studying compared 30 55 33 38 28 43 to those working or NEET: 80 versus 64 and 25 36 55 percent (Figure 14). About 33 percent of 43 those who think about leaving the community 34 36 31 29 31 28 consider other urban areas as potential 26 14 destinations, about 31 percent consider the National Male Female Poorest Richest Studying Working NEET capital, 25 percent do not have any preference, and 11 percent want to migrate to another Gender Quintiles Current activity status country or to any other destination. The youth who are currently studying are more likely to Capital Other urban areas No preference or other consider Kampala as a potential destination Another country Rural areas Consider leaving community compared to those working or in NEET: Note: Values may not add to 100 percent due to rounding. 36 versus 26 and 14 percent respectively. 10 CONCLUSIONS The aspirations of young people are essential education was lack of money, followed by to their human capital investment, educational less important frequent illnesses, lack of choices, and labor market outcomes. This motivation, family obligations, domestic is particularly important for Uganda with obligations and pregnancy. growing working age population and the labor market dominated by low productive jobs. This In line with high education aspirations, brief explored education and work aspiration most of the youth view as dream jobs being of the youth aged 15-25 in Uganda using medical workers, technicians/engineers, or results from the high-frequency phone survey teachers. All these dream jobs are either conducted in August/September 2023. medium or high-skill occupations requiring at least complete secondary education. Almost More than half of the youth have only achieved nobody viewed agriculture as a dream job primary education or below. Secondary even though more than 60 percent of adult education is more accessible to those from Ugandans were employed in this sector in the richer consumption quintiles. The youth 2021 (UBOS 2021b). Aspiring to high-paid from the wealthier quintiles also had a higher jobs outside of agriculture is an important likelihood of overpassing the education of their finding. Non-farm sector has been growing in parents, which may limit intergenerational Uganda during the last decade, but its ability mobility. Most of the young people, who to absorb growing labor force is still limited. were not studying, mentioned expensiveness Many people cannot access non-farm jobs due and lack of money as one of the key reasons to various constraints including inadequate for being out of school. Family obligations, education level and limited access to basic marriage, and pregnancy were crucial factors infrastructure (World Bank 2023). for female youth as well. Only 20 percent of the currently employed The youth have high educational aspirations, youth respondents think that they have a as more than half of them selected tertiary dream work, but many, especially those who education as a hypothetical level they wanted are still studying, and those from the richest to achieve if there were no constraints and consumption quintile, optimistically think they they could study as long as they wanted. are likely to achieve it. NEET youth and those Almost nobody from the youth respondents from the poorest consumption quintile have the viewed primary education as an aspirational lowest expectations to achieve a dream job. target and the majority aspired to reach secondary or tertiary education. In reality Earning a lot of money, being interesting though, only eight percent of the overall and using skills are the most important population in Uganda above 15 years old characteristics of a dream job for Ugandans. achieved post-secondary education in 2019/20 At the same time, family and friends were (UBOS 2021a). This makes the distance the most key factors affecting the choice of between aspirational education and current a dream job, while lack of money and not achievements high. The main constraining lack of education was selected by the most factor in achieving an aspirational level of respondents as a constraint to achieve it. 11 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • Empirical analysis demonstrated Ugandan commercialization, facilitated by the usage of youth aspire to achieve better education modern inputs and technologies, developing and better jobs. However, the current gap agribusiness and food value chains between aspirations and reality is large. (Lorenceau, Rim and Savitki 2021). Therefore, helping individuals to achieve aspirations, by addressing the structural • Many youth respondents aspire to be constraints and providing the tools technicians, while the farmers nationwide necessary to realizing the goals, seems to be face a shortage of agricultural technicians. more important than raising the aspirational Agricultural technicians are responsible for bar (raising aspirations for the poorest and running the farms and have a wide range those in NEET can still be useful though). of responsibilities, from crop monitoring to Realigning some aspirations to more servicing equipment. Attracting the youth to realistic alternatives can be useful too. become agricultural technicians will require changing their mindset, developing practical • Given substantial improvement in access skills and knowledge, and making agriculture to primary schooling in Uganda, there is a more attractive and profitable as discussed need to focus on the quality of learning and above. Overall, there is a need to invest skills building which will allow to sustain the more in skills-based education to reduce the gains in early childhood education, improve mismatch between the knowledge acquired participation in upper levels of education, by students and the knowledge and skills and facilitate a strong transition to work. required by the labor market. • Dropping out from school and inability to • Providing young people with accurate reach aspirational education level among information about labor market prospects, female youth due to non-monetary factors and effective career guidance on the best can be addressed by providing incentives for way to get closer to their goals can be helpful. girls to remain in school or go back to school Career counselling with monitoring may be if they dropped out. Providing adequate a good mechanism for relaying information transportation to schools, ensuring separate about the types of jobs available in the labor water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for market, helping to raise aspirations among girls and reducing the risk of violence and aspirations-poor youth (e.g., NEET, poor) sexual harassment may be helpful as well and re-align aspirations that are unlikely to (World Bank, 2020). be achieved to more realistic alternatives (Gardiner and Goedhuys 2020). • There is a need for policies which will accelerate economic transformations to • Even though a lot of young people aspire create more formal wage jobs in productive to be medical workers or teachers, high sectors. The agriculture sector has a capacity payment was a crucial factor behind to create more jobs for the youth, but these selection of a dream work for most of the jobs need to be attractive and generate respondents. There are other types of better incomes. This can be achieved through jobs that can provide adequate payment, accelerated agricultural transformation and especially in the growing IT industry. 12 Affordable and widespread essential to create a more resilient telecommunication services will be education system as COVID-19 pandemic crucial to promote technology-based showed. Digital technologies helped to keep empowerment among the youth. Digital educational system afloat and facilitated technology and capabilities are also home-based learning. REFERENCES Chen X, and Hesketh T. (2021). Educational Lorenceau, A., J. Rim and T. Savitki (2021). Aspirations and Expectations of Adolescents “Youth aspirations and the reality of jobs in in Rural China: Determinants, Mental Health, Africa”, OECD Development Policy Papers, and Academic Outcomes. Int J Environ Res No. 38, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/ Public Health. November 2;18(21):11524. 10.1787/2d089001-en. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111524. Lybbert, Travis & Wydick, Bruce. 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