Ideally, rural youths between 15-17 years have just completed their secondary education (Form 4). Some enroll for high school education, while others consider apprenticeships or colleges of career choice.
However, because of poverty and lack of entitlements, the majority are caught up at that level. They have not reached the majority age (18 years) and are considered as minors and this determines their ultimate choices.
An understanding of place is one way to inform the design of effective interventions for the 15-17 age group. Rural areas can be places of problem (challenges of health,, education and food security etc), privilege (opportunities of recreation and renewal) and possibility. The challenge is how to transform rural areas from places of problem to possibility (Budge, 2006).
Rural-urban migration has historically absorbed the excess population of the countryside, as pressure for farming land worsens-leaving rural areas depopulated- and few employed in agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The impact of climate change on the already vulnerable 15-17 age group threatens to significantly reduce their opportunities.
The discourse of green jobs has overtaken the development agenda- with hopes for widespread development and poverty reduction, creation of new and more vibrant economies based on clean technologies and securing an increasingly greener world.
One obvious gap is how can the vulnerable 15-17 age group can be considered as key players in the green economy:
- How best can we narrow the green jobs and technical training/vocational gap?
- What is the role of formal/informal institutions in providing the relevant career choices or support in a green economy?
- How can we raise awareness of the changes happening 15-17 age group locales (their spaces) and elsewhere and how prepared and equipped are they for these changes?
- How can local policies be made inclusive to the 15-17 age group in a green economy?
Potential interventions/best practices could address technical knowledge in green technologies, facilitating existing entrepreneurial cultures, opportunities for financing and demonstration and deployment of new technologies. Balancing new technologies with local knowledge is key to the success of the green economy/jobs.
In the words of one farmer who has practical experience in the farming industry "My generation started with a solid foundation of knowledge and work ethic learned from our parents who learned the food and feed production skills from their parents. They sent us to school to learn new ideas and make new connections while we worked with them on the land and then it was our turn to take what we had learned and began the process of trying to improve - sometimes failing but ever moving forward"
Olivia Muza