The effect of youth livelihood program on youth income levels in Uganda: a case study of Kagadi District

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of youth livelihood program on youth income levels in Uganda kagadi district. The study was guided by following objectives, (i) To assess the effect of youth participation ln the youth livelihood program on their lncome levels. ii)To determine the effect of demographic factors on youth income levels ,(iii)To assess the effect of social-economic factors on the youth income levels . There were 129 respondents (sample size) involved consisting of both youth who participate in the youth livelihood program(57.36%) and those who don’t participate in the youth livelihood program(42.63%) .The study was mainly primary in nature that is (cross sectional survey) where structured close ended questionnaires and personal interviews were applied in field while collecting data about the youth in kagadi district. The statistical software analysis tool used was STATA. Univariate , Bivariate and Multivariate analysis were made where univariate analysis part consisted and frequencies and percentages , bivariate analysis included a chi-square analysis in determining the level of association between each of the independent variable relating it to the the dependent variable .An ordered logistic regression was conducted using stata and results were found partipation in youth livelihood program is positively related to current level of income of the youth .The findings in the study include the following ; (i) access to market and current level of saving were found statistically significant with p-values of 0.010 and 0.000 respectively , and this brings us to a conclusion of rejecting null hypothesis respectively which states that “Social-economic factors such as savings and access to market statistically influence the income levels of the youth “. Unlike working hours, Age ,Paticipation, Level of Education , Sex and type of business are found not to be statistically influencing the incomes of youth in Kagadi District and thus we fail to reject null hypothesis .Similarly findings reveals that participation in YLP is not statistically significant since the p-value og 0.565 is greater than 0.05 but participating in the YLP increases the likelihood of the youth in earning a higher level of income by 0.2234 compared to those who do not participate in the program . In conclusion there is no significant impact of youth livelihood program on the youth income levels of kagadi district. Recommendations , Ensure that higher education programs are practical and aligned with market needs to improve the employability of graduates , Focus on market-oriented technical and vocational training to enhance employability and match skills with job market demands. Conclusion from The analysis indicates that the Youth Livelihood Program alone does not have a statistically significant impact on reducing youth poverty level (or increasing income levels) in Kagadi District . This implies youth livelihood program has not been effective enough on the youth who participated through there different youth groups due to different factors associated during the implementation of the program .