Lived Experiences of Unemployed Graduate Youth in Botswana

Abstract

This article presents the lived experiences of unemployed graduate youth in Botswana, and it is part of a doctoral thesis titled, “Enhancing Active Labour Market Programmes for Improved Youth Livelihoods: A Study of Unemployed Graduate Youth in Botswana.” The qualitative study drew data from focus group discussions with unemployed graduate youth for this article and adopted the sustainable livelihoods framework. The data used were derived from the narrations as stated by unemployed graduate young people in three localities of Gaborone (urban), Kanye (urban villages), and Oodi/Modipane (rural areas) who partook in the study and are, therefore, not representative of the entire population of those unemployed in Botswana. Rather, the study highlights the unemployed young graduates’ lived experiences. Among the highly mentioned experiences of these unemployed graduate youth were social exclusion by their communities, family and friends; unmitigated blame; loss of respect, esteem, and self-esteem; wrongful accusations; and unappreciated domestic work.