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Introduction: The Udaan Scheme was implemented in response to enduring conflict, economic downturn, and employment scarcity. Under the Rangarajan Committee, the scheme aimed to address unemployment in a selected region through skill development programmes. Based on practical experience, Udaan aimed to build a competitive workforce for India and the global economy.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the success ratio of the Udaan Scheme in addressing the employment challenges faced by the youth.

Need of the study: The chapter highlights the potential of the scheme to be a part of a resilient industry for job employability in politically disturbed areas.

Methodology: The compiled data were analysed using a spreadsheet collected from online sources, providing information on the number of registrations for the skill development programme between March 2012 and May 2018, that is, the programme’s implementation in the pre-UT era, mainly sourced from the Udaan Impact Assessment Report and the Review of the Udaan Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Findings: The programme, which provided professional training and increased the job-securing capacity of youth, has had a dismal success rate despite the government’s investment of Rs 246 crore. The initiative has employed less than 10,000 individuals, or at most 10% of the target population, falling short of its claimed goals.

Significance of the study in the global market: The scheme addresses unemployment and career development for educated youth, enhancing India’s economic growth and global competitiveness. By providing skill development and exposure to the corporate sector, it empowers youth and attracts international business opportunities. It aligns with global efforts to bridge the skills gap and showcases India’s commitment to human capital development in a conflict-driven state.

Purpose: This chapter explores the two major schemes applicable to skill development in India: Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).

Need for the Study: The primary objective of this research is to check the role of these schemes in enhancing the skills of socio-economically stressed community members for their livelihoods. The secondary aim is to analyse the outcomes of these schemes through a qualitative inquiry.

Methodology: A survey was conducted, and the data was collected from trainees of the skill development programmes. Based on the responses, a qualitative content analysis was performed, which showed that most trainees have the thirst and urge to enhance their life skills for a minimalistic livelihood.

Findings: The study concluded that though there are many schemes, only PMKVY is active. They focus on more than just youth communities. Instead, they consider individuals in different age categories.

Practical Implications: The Government of India (GOI) is progressing towards a healthy economy to compete with other countries. For this mission to be achieved, skill and labour development is paramount. Appropriate training must be provided and administrated through government schemes.

This study aims to investigate the global issues of youth unemployment using bibliometric analysis covering the period from 1983 to 2022. There is a dearth of a bibliometric study analysis on unemployment, particularly youth unemployment even at the global level. The present study seeks to fill this gap by exploring the prominent studies related to youth unemployment at the global level.

Using VOSviewer software bibliometric results and the Scopus database, the study uncovered the most frequently cited, prominent and influential authors, as well as the institutions that have worked on youth unemployment and the most prominent keywords published on youth unemployment.

Nearly 80% of the research articles on youth unemployment were published from 2005 to 2022, and a significant increase in publication after 2012 is observed. Based on the published papers, the most studied determinants of youth unemployment are increased levels of regional economic advances, state demographics, relocation, household conditions, regional openness and export/import. Economic freedom, labour market reforms, economic growth, high proportion of part-time employment, active labour market policies, minimum wage norms, extent of bargaining scope and alignment are prominent determinants that reduce unemployment at large and improve labour market performance of youth in particular.

Bibliometric analysis, like the present study, can narrow down the most prominent sources of information on youth unemployment for beginners in this field of research.

This bibliometric study on youth employment assists researchers and policymakers in understanding and summarizing the necessary determinants of youth employment that are already being identified and studied based on practical evidence from the authors’ case study-based research work. The present study raises the issue of youth unemployment at large. It helps in identifying factors in one place and thus new researchers can use it as a starting point for their research on youth unemployment. It helps in providing clustering of factors. It highlighted the significant studies, authors and institutions working in this field.

On social implication, it can be argued that studies on topics related to human resources have a direct impact on society standards. By producing scientific knowledge that aids in the recognition of the complexities of human processes and behaviours, social science research significantly contributes to the enrichment of the community as a whole. When young people are unemployed, it causes social unrest and may increase crime and terrorism, all of which contribute to political instability. Youth unemployment causes psychological illness because of anxiety, alienation and depression. As a result, it causes social instability and necessitates immediate attention in all societies. The present study highlights that although the unemployment rate of youth is significantly higher in underdeveloped countries than the developed countries, their representation in the publication is significantly low. This under-representation of countries shows their lack of commitment to society in working on the issue of youth unemployment.

It is assumed that there are plenty of research studies on unemployment, particularly at the global level. However, various domains of researchers may require a bibliometric kind of analysis wherein they may get an idea about the prominent number of literatures arguing concerning issues at large, in the sense of “focused studies” covering the comprehensive viewpoint on youth unemployment. The paper aimed to emphasize the topic of youth unemployment, its development in the research field and the usefulness of bibliometric analysis in social sciences in general, and youth unemployment in particular.

This study aims to examine the association between apprenticeship training and self-employment and how gender moderates the association.

Secondary data from the World Bank’s Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) survey on Ghana were analysed using a binary choice (logit regression) model. The STEP survey drew its nationally representative sample from the working-age population (15–64 years) in urban areas.

After controlling for several factors identified in the literature as determinants of self-employment, the results indicate that completing apprenticeship training increases the likelihood of being self-employed. However, women who have completed apprenticeship training are more likely to be self-employed than men.

By examining the moderating effect of gender on the association between apprenticeship training and self-employment, this study has offered new evidence that policymakers can use to promote self-employment, especially among women, to reduce the entrepreneurial gap between men and women.

This study explores the contribution of social entrepreneurship to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Uganda.

We employed a qualitative approach and a multiple-case design to engage 20 participants. Specifically, semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather the perceptions and views of the participants regarding the study phenomenon.

Study findings indicate that social entrepreneurs support a number of people and undertake activities that solve social, environmental and economic problems. However, environmental issues receive less focus when compared to other sustainability aspects. It is also evident that social entrepreneurs are financially constrained with limited managerial skills, undermining their potential to fulfill their social mission. Despite these challenges, social entrepreneurs have significantly contributed to the attainment of SDGs 1, 4, 5, 8 and 10 in Uganda.

This study contributes to the existing literature on social entrepreneurship and sustainable development. Specifically, it provides initial empirical evidence on the social entrepreneurial activities, the beneficiaries and challenges being addressed by social entrepreneurs and contribution to the attainment of the SDGs in Uganda.

This study was conducted to analyse the socio-ecological problems faced by the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary and understand its potential and challenges for developing ecotourism following Triple Bottom Line (TBL) principles. The study also benchmarked best ecotourism practices across the globe to create an ecotourism plan that would provide alternative livelihood and help in sustainable management of the area by reducing poverty, dependency on forests and biodiversity protection.

Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary was chosen because this area has several socio-ecological crises with limited livelihood options, and there is an urgent need for alternative livelihood opportunities in the form of ecotourism. The study followed an ethnographic approach through observation, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews. Content and thematic analysis was conducted through Atlas Ti9.0 software for data analysis. Subsequently, benchmarking best ecotourism practices through a literature review was done to develop an ecotourism action plan.

The First finding was related to the study area divided into three themes: problems, potential for ecotourism development, and challenges for ecotourism development. The second finding was related to benchmarking best practices and suggesting an action plan.

This work studied an area not sufficiently acknowledged by academicians and policymakers concerning ecotourism development. The work also benchmarks the best practices for ecotourism and proposes a sight-specific ecotourism action plan in accordance with TBL.

This study aims to examine the impact of knowledge and skills acquisition from youth leadership programs on the extent of training transfer. Additionally, it explores the role of self-esteem as a potential intervening mechanism in linking the acquired knowledge and skills to the transfer of training.

Using a non-probability purposive sampling, data were gathered from participants of youth leadership programs in Brunei. The study hypotheses were validated using multiple linear regression analysis and Hayes PROCESS macro.

The findings revealed that knowledge and skills acquisition positively affect the extent of training transfer among youth leadership program participants. Moreover, self-esteem is found to be a crucial mediator in the relationship between knowledge and skills acquired from youth leadership programs and the extent of training transfer.

The study suggests that to optimize the transfer of training in the youth leadership programs, relevant stakeholders – training providers, and practitioners – must prioritize not only the knowledge and skills acquisition but also the cultivation of participants’ self-esteem. To achieve this, a primary focus should be placed on the criticality of designing such programs to address these factors. Policymakers, particularly in Brunei, can enhance the leadership pipeline among the youth population and expedite progress toward achieving the national vision by aligning leadership development initiatives with the broader national development agenda.

Collectively, this study enhances understanding of training transfer in youth leadership development, an often-overlooked area in the literature.

There is a global concern about the effectiveness of vocational education and training (VET) programmes in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world environments for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. Experiential learning (EL) is a major component of VET programmes. This article aims to examine the effects of facilitating VET through EL theory to promote youths' skills acquisition. The study looks at the effects of material resources on the use of experiential learning theory (ELT), the types of EL and the contribution of ELT to VET programmes.

The research design mainly entails a qualitative research design and research method to allow the researcher to view the reality as is experienced from the inside out by the trainees and training centre managers on important data for a thorough understanding. The study participants were 512 young trainees who completed different training courses from the VET programmes and 24 centre managers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

The findings reveal that the use of ELT in VET programmes helped the trainees to gain real-world skills, hence contributing to their empowerment in terms of work experience and competence for their future employment. Based on the findings, the study concludes that ELT is an effective instrument to promote VET programmes for disadvantaged and unemployed youths.

The practical and social implications of the findings are that, while disadvantaged youths cannot access and afford higher education, public and private sectors can remedy their situation by providing non-school-based technical and vocational training to help such youths enter the labour market. The findings will motivate the providers of skills development for unemployed youths to use ELT in designing course curricula, planning resources and directing teaching-learning approaches to help trainees to acquire skills and competencies to perform tasks close to real-work situations.

The socio-economic implication of the article is that skills development plays an important role in poverty reduction. Investing in the skills development of citizens is vital to raise the incomes of poor groups and to reduce poverty (ILO, 2018). Although the causes of unemployment have also to do with economic factors in a country, skills development is an essential ingredient in developing capacities for labour market entry and increased income generation of a vulnerable group of people.

The article is significant because the study provides new insights into the use of ELT in VET programmes to improve their effectiveness in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world environments for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by establishing a solid base for the evidence-informed practice of the effects of facilitating the VET programme through ELT to promote skills acquisition for the employment of unemployed and disadvantaged youths.

The purpose of this study is to establish whether all the dimensions of entrepreneurship skills matter for sustainable business start-up among the youths, using evidence from a developing economy.

This was cross-sectional study which utilized a quantitative approach. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 254 youths who undertook skills training at the various government-supported business skills training centers in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA), that is to say, Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to derive descriptive, correlational and hierarchical regression.

Study findings indicate that unlike entrepreneurial skills, management, technical and personal maturity skills matter for the sustainability of business start-up of youths in Uganda. However, when all skills are compared, management skills matter most as compared to technical and personal maturity skills.

This study strengthens the existing literature on the sustainable business start-up of youths in Uganda. It is also relevant for policy decision-making and policy reversal because it demonstrates that skilling is pertinent and should be encouraged and rolled out across the country to encourage sustainable youth business start-ups. To increase sustainable business start-up among youths, management skills should be prioritized, together with technical and personal maturity skills, compared to entrepreneurial skills, which should only be emphasized at the idea generation, planning, resource mobilization and business implementation stages.

A plethora of youth development programmes exist across South Africa that can be characterised as social crime prevention or building youth resilience. However, many of these programmes can be seen as one dimensional, focussing largely on skills development and preparing youth for the labour market. In addition, a large number of these programmes are short-term interventions, with the long-term impact not always measured. A number of scholars over the last two decades have emphasised the importance of sustainability and envisioning a continuum of development, particularly for youth who have become disengaged from social institutions. Consequently, there is an urgent need to examine the different approaches to youth development and their value, and more importantly, to provide a platform for youth voices to be heard on their perceptions of what they need to enhance their growth and development, particularly in the context of the growing number of youth who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). An approach that is gaining currency in South Africa with NEET youth is that of a holistic approach. The purpose of this chapter is to explore a holistic approach to personal transformation in the youth sector as implemented by the Chrysalis Academy (CA) over the past 18 years. Its approach embraces the development of the whole person and encourages education in its broadest sense, including the arts, technical and vocational training, emotional intelligence, psychosocial support and spiritual development.