Youth Unemployment Policy and Administrative Responses in Ondo State

This study examines public policy frameworks and administrative responses to youth unemployment in Ondo State, located in Nigeria's South West geopolitical zone. Youth unemployment is one of Nigeria's most pressing socioeconomic challenges, and state-level interventions through skills development programmes, enterprise support, and employment matching services have produced varied results. A professional survey design is used, collecting data from 175 youth beneficiaries, state employment scheme administrators, vocational training centre managers, and private sector employers across three local government areas. Data are analysed using descriptive statistics and regression. The Labour Market Segmentation Theory and the Human Capital Theory jointly provide the analytical framework, examining how structural labour market barriers and skills deficits interact to produce persistent youth unemployment. Findings reveal that existing state-funded vocational training programmes suffer from poor curriculum alignment with labour market demands, inadequate facilities, and weak linkages with potential employers in the manufacturing and services sectors. Enterprise development grants are frequently captured by well-connected youth rather than the most economically vulnerable. The study recommends a labour market demand survey to guide curriculum development, mandatory employer engagement in vocational programme design, and competitive grant allocation mechanisms with transparent beneficiary selection criteria. Keywords: youth unemployment, public policy, Ondo State, vocational training, enterprise development.