Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Making – A Perspective

Keeping in line with the ILO and UN Organizations focus and emphasis in the area of Youth Entrepreneurship, several countries have begun to work towards designing policy framework for developing Youth Entrepreneurship in the country.

Academicians and several agencies have invested into studying and bringing out a lot of data and information defining Youth entrepreneurship and have suggested policy approach too. Youth entrepreneurship policies are defined at the national level by the Government in collaboration with several departments including Youth affairs, Education, Finance and other related disciplines to ensure that the complete needs of Youth are addressed to while defining the policy.

Accordingly, Youth Entrepreneurship of countries take into account and define policies that address the entire process of building the skills and providing the education to equip youth with necessary technical, business, finance, training and other related areas to prepare them to embark on entrepreneurship.

A comprehensive youth entrepreneurship policy goes on to the next phase of developing and grooming the Youth in terms of soft skills including, attitude, motivation and ethics etc. The policy should include specific actions that will increase the employability of the youth in measurable terms.

A progressive Youth Entrepreneurial policy goes on further to describe and define several kinds of entrepreneurial opportunities and sectors that are available to the Youth and provide for training and guidance to the youth to equip themselves for each of the identified sectors.

An effective Youth Entrepreneurship policy should include the provisions and schemes that the Government intends to make available to the youth by means of providing assistance in the areas of finance, guidance, mentoring, single window clearance, marketing and sales assistance as well as technical assistance in all areas of business operations to encourage and incubate youth entrepreneurs.

It should be understood very clearly that in every country, it is the Government that needs to create the avenues and opportunities for employment as well as for entrepreneurship and educate, train as well as equip the youth to take on the opportunities. How and when this can be achieved would become the important part of the policy that will define the road ahead that leads to implementation.

As the Youth Entrepreneurship policy involves multiple sectors, it is important to make the budgetary provisions as well as define the responsibilities of each and every other department and outline a collaborative approach to the overall implementation of policy guidelines.

Youth entrepreneurships form a part of the overall economy and the industrial segments. SMEs and service sectors that are predominantly private enterprises do contribute to the overall economy both in financial perspective as well as from the point of service perspective as well. Therefore a huge part of the economic policy towards SME development goes hand in hand with Youth entrepreneurship policy as well.

Thus Youth Entrepreneurship policy definition needs to be all comprehensive and futuristic encompassing education, economy, social and other related fields outlining action plan and time frame for achieving the goals. In current times where countries are undergoing economic as well as social and cultural changes due to the evolution of technology and globalization, the YE policies would need to take into account the changes happening in the society and amongst the youth and be able to address their aspirations and provide them with a map to the future that will unleash the Youth power.

Youth power if harnessed guided and nurtured carefully, will certainly contribute to the growth of the society and the nation undoubtedly. Therefore Youth Entrepreneurship policy demands such focus and importance in every country.