Youth unemployment to be tackled at national, local levels

Ruwanthi Abeyakoon

NATIONAL ACTION PLAN: The issue of youth unemployment will be tackled at the national and local levels, CEO, Youth Employment Network (YEN), a body under the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Deepthi Lamahewa said recently at a discussion on the World Development Report 2007, a publication of the World Bank.

“Youth Employment Network will assist the Government to develop and implement strategies that give young people a real chance to find decent and productive work,” he said.

Lamahewa said that the National Action Plan is aimed at analysing the youth unemployment issue. “The Plan will investigate key dimensions of youth exclusion from the labour market. It will also promote partnerships and network various political stakeholders to implement innovative solutions to the youth employment challenges,” he explained.

“YEN hopes to develop the National Action Plan attracting and mobilizing the needed resources from the Government, the private sector and the donor community. Social communication campaigns that address work ethics, attitudes and perceptions on manual, technical and entrepreneurial work will also be initiated,” Lamahewa added.

“A large percentage of university graduates remain unemployed for a long period of time after completing studies. Graduates from low socio-economic strata have significant disadvantage in securing a job,” Social Protection Economist, World Bank Nimnath Withanachchi said speaking on `Transition from university to work’.

He added, a questionnaire-based survey done in January 2006-March 2006 taking two clusters from the University of Colombo revealed that the field of study significantly affects employability and earning capacity.

Senior Social Protection Economist, World Bank, Milan Vodopivec pointed out that inaccessibility of quality education and training, causes unemployment. “Workers are pushed to informal sector by lack of human capital, poverty and distance to markets. Informal sector workers include individuals who dropped out of school because of high costs of schooling,” Vodopivec said.