Archives

Skills training for 60,000 youth annually

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Tertiary Education and Training Minister Kabir Hashim yesterday said that his Ministry plans to train at least 60,000 unemployed youth annually. But the Ministry should directly intervene to provide employment to nearly 80 per cent of such youth.

Addressing Ministry officials after assuming duties, he said the Ministry should make collaborative efforts with the Government, Non-governmental organisations and international institutions to train youth for employment skills. The teamwork of Ministry officials is vital to achieve these goals.

He said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has vested this Ministry in him to do a more productive service to the youth population which is considered the lifeblood of the country.

"Therefore, my prime responsibility is to handle this Ministry properly for the betterment of youth to overcome unemployment. I have already discussed with Ministry officials on its ministerial activities and the shortcomings of the Ministry."

The Minister said eight per cent of children do not attend schools at present. There is a 10.47 per cent unemployment rate in the country. The majority of these youth are graduates. This indicates the disparity between the education system and the job market.

As a result 90 per cent of the country's youth have got stranded today without finding any income generation avenues. Therefore, this error should be rectified immediately, he said.

He said the Tertiary Education and Training Ministry has to play a more responsible role in guiding unemployed youth for demand driven training fields. In order to face these challenges, the shortcomings of the institutions and the training centres of the Ministry should be rectified. The training targets and programs of the Ministry should be changed to suit modern day needs.

"We need only an honest performance and dedication to bring forward this Ministry to address the needs of youth and provide solutions for youth unemployment," the Minister added. 

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager