Youth Lack Employment Skills

-MYS Alarms

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has disclose here that youth in the country lack the employment skills that could earned them a vacation job. The ministry said in order for youth to capable for any vacation job in the country, they must be skilled in technical and vocational institutions in the country.

The ministry, however, noted that the leakage in employment skills readiness was seriously causing constraints for youth employment in every sector of the country.

It said technical and vocational skills development was very important in every society because it enables the government to tackle major problems and issues that threaten youth empowerment and employment.

A can be recalled that in January of this year, the government, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports provided vacation jobs for over 3,000 young people seeking employment while awaiting the reopening of schools.

Addressing a group of journalists on Wednesday at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism during its daily press briefing, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Len Eugene Nagbe indicated that technical and vocational institutions enable youth to acquire employable skills.

He said it also has the most significant potential to enhance human competences and expand young people options to place them into a better perspective to broaden their chances.

Minister Nagbe pointed out that the ministry was seeking additional US$25 million funding from the World Bank for the implementation of the plan to provide vacation jobs in May for every young people across the fifteen counties, adding that the money will target  employment readiness for young people seeking vacation jobs.

He further explained that young people only call on the government to provide them vacation jobs, but lack the readiness to do such jobs, saying “they don’t have the potentials and ability to perform the jobs which they are seeking.”

Minister Nagbe assured that the ministry will begin with its software programs that will focus on policy interventions to deliver youth programs at every level in the country.

He also added that the ministry will also introduce a sequel to the Liberia Youth Empowerment program or LYEP with funding from the World Bank.

“We will begin this June 2015 and continue the empowerment programs to put 25,000 young people on job across the country.”

The Youtj and Sports further indicated that the ministry will implement additional projects for youth employment, including the Youth opportunities Project or YOP to focus on both rural and urban youth under programmatic areas such as pre-employment social support and household enterprise for urban youth.

According to him, the objective of this component is to increase the employment readiness of youth by supporting the development of non-cognitive skills, and positive attitudes toward work,  as well as provide business opportunity support for young people in the country.

By Lewis S. Teh