Youths in Thika West sub-county have been asked to explore existing opportunities in the informal sector rather than waiting for white collar jobs that are not forthcoming.
Speaking in Thika Town on Wednesday, Sam Chege who is the secretary general of Thika District Business Association said that many youths are losing out at home waiting for office jobs which he said are hard to come across nowadays.
"I have been of the opinion that the solution to our run-away unemployment problem in this country is the informal sector, if only everybody could start taking it seriously," said Chege.
He added: "Youths must change their mentality that they must be in white collar jobs to be successful. Here in Thika Town the informal sector is widening up but youths are nowhere to be seen. It is dominated by the elderly."
Chege who is the chairman of Mia Africa Sacco has been championing for youth-driven programmes saying they are pivotal to the county's and country's economic growth.
"We have to depart from the old way of doing things. Youths must be allowed to be the torch bearers as they have a lot of unexploited potential," said Chege.