An Investigation into the Skills Training Empowerment Program (STEP) to Determine Its Impact on the Reduction of Youth Unemployment in St. Kitts and Nevis

This research paper examined a case of a public policy safety net program within the context of a small developing country of St. Kitts and Nevis. The aim of the research was to assess the impact of the Skills Training Empowerment Program (STEP) on the reduction of youth unemployment within the economy to recommend a model associated with the behavioral public administration approach theory for unemployed youth to transition to permanent employment. Other theories utilized in the study included job-search, labor-market, skills mismatch, and social relationship exclusion. Using mixed methods in an exploratory sequential design, qualitative and quantitative data was collected from a sample of 150 participants across St Kitts and Nevis, which primarily included STEP interns, non-STEP participants and officers involved in youth training and development. The sampling size and technique used was based on the type of study. Thirty-four participants comprised the sample size for the qualitative data and 116 participants completed the questionnaires for the quantitative data. With the use of interviews, focus study groups and online questionnaires, primary qualitative data was first analyzed using Taguette, followed sequentially by quantitative data using SPSS to answer the main research question: To what extent has STEP reduced the level of youth unemployment in St Kitts and Nevis? The findings were displayed using tables, pie charts and graphs and revealed that this public policy program STEP contributed positively toward a 75% reduction in the level of unemployment that existed in St Kitts and Nevis, prior to its implementation. Notwithstanding, the study also revealed areas of weakness and to a large extent, the program had not fulfilled its intended objective of training and empowering persons with the necessary skills to move from internship to permanent employment. From an assessment of the behavioral public administration theory, public service values such as democratic participation, transparency, accountability, governance ethics, efficiency, effectiveness, and equity were lacking from the findings of STEP, which calls for a demand of policymakers and practitioners within government to employ alternative approaches to policy design and implementation. Recommendations from the study included a re-design and focus, as well as proper orientation, monitoring, and evaluation for the program to advance from a mere “assistance program” to a real “training program”.