Determinants of Youth Graduates’ Self-Employment Practices: The Case of Burayu Town, Oromia Special Zone, Ethiopia,

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to explore determinants of youth graduates’ self-employment practices. The study was conducted in Burayu town administration, Oromia Special Zone, Ethiopia. A total of 277 youth graduated from higher education institutions (both universities and technical and vocational, education and training) were participated in the study. The study applied exploratory type of research design. Mixed quantitative and qualitative data were used from randomly selected samples. Self-administeredquestionnaire, focus group discussions, key informant interview and personal observation were used to collect the required data from primary data sources. The data have been analyzed by descriptive statistics (mean values and frequency), inferential statistics (correlation and t test) and economic model (binary model) using SPSS software version 21. The qualitative data were used to substantiate the responses of the questionnaire.Major Findings of the Study include,self employment outcome was minimally practiced by youth graduates comprising that only 20 percent of the sample were self-employed. High rate of unemployment, high competition to get jobs and poverty were the tree major triggering factors that had forced the graduates to start their own jobs. Discrimination, partiality and corruption and inadequate supportive conditions from the local government were identified to be the three top reasons affecting the self-employment practices of the self-employed groups.Perceptions about self-employment, opportunities for Self-employment, self employability competencies, socio-economic and cultural norms were identified to be the inter-related determinants for youth graduates’ self-employment practices. It was concluded that breakthrough interventions such as integrating self-employment curriculum, improving enabling environment for youth graduates’ self-employmentendeavors, establishing and strengthening youth graduates-focused development program andassociation, increasing stakeholders’ engagement in the youth graduates’ self-employment efforts and ensuring sustainability of youth graduates’ self employmentendeavorssubstantially important.