Human Development Department - Thursday, 10 March 2005
Parliament of Fiji Library, Research, Information & Advisory Service FACT SHEET YOUTH EMPLOYMENT ISSUES Prepared by: Jyoti Maharaj Research Officer Sustainable Human Development Vol. 3 No. 1 (April 1999) Youth, defined as persons between the ages of 15 and 24, are potentially the most productive age group of any nation. The 1996 estimates showed that this category made up 20% of the total population. This is a reduction of 4% from the 1991 estimates. It is a revealing fact that 75% of the unemployed are youths and, approximately 60% of the nations youth population reside in rural areas. However, the traditional lifestyle in rural areas is undergoing a basic transformation that could have serious repercussion on law and order and the stability of the nation. It may be true that improved transportation, health, education and welfare services have raised the quality of life of many villagers and rural people. But, this progress has not been cost-free or evenly shared. With it has come a slow erosion of the central role of the family and traditional authority. The youth of Fiji are faced with limited paid employment opportunities. This problem has been aggravated by the thousands of school-leaves seeking formal jobs with limited employment skills, particularly in urban areas. To address this national concern, a separate Ministry (Ministry of Youth, Employment Opportunities and Sports) was established in 1993. The major task of the Ministry is to focus on the mobilisation and training of youths in various capacities to broaden and facilitate economic activities. More importantly, their skill training must be of the standard, which is appropriate and marketable to the labour market. However, since 1989, a number of initiatives have been undertaken to assist and equip youth with employable skills. Moreover, realizing the importance of this age group, government in 1994 declared a public holiday, which is celebrated annually as National Youth Day. Various training programmes have been instituted to equip youth to establish self-employment activities. The Ministry of Youth, Employment Opportunities and Sports will continue to focus on developing the full potential of Fijis youth so they can positively contribute to the economic and social development of the country. Governments plans include improving the work of the Youth Employment Options Centre to help school leavers and the jobless to make informed choices about their careers. The Annual Careers Expo, the Small Business Development Programme, and the Fiji National Youth Band will be developed further. The National Youth Service (NYS) operates with a government budget of approximately $1.6 million per annum. This project was launched in 1993 and is tailored particularly for youths who, have not succeeded in the formal educational system. The programme aims to provide disadvantaged young people with opportunities to develop work skills and gain experience through vocational training and individual community based social and economic projects. Although the NYS is primarily focused on rural youth training and on encouraging youth to live and work in their rural surroundings, it is not exclusively rural-oriented. The NYS has conducted a number of causes for urban youth, concentrating on skills training in house-keeping, screen printing and tie dying, waste recycling, small engine maintenance, tailoring, domestic electrical appliance maintenance, driving, welding and art and craft. This scheme trains approximately 1500 youths per year through training programmes that incorporate vocational skills, agricultural skills, discipline, spiritual development, time management, cultural awareness, social and cultural development including positive mental attitude (PMA) training. Training centres have been established in Macuata, Cakaudrove, Lomaiviti and Kadavu provinces. The programme is being continued following its success. The Youth Employment Option Training Centre was established in 1989 to assist young people make a successful transition from school to work, and from unemployment to employment and further studies. Until 1996, the programme operated with a single centre in Suva. In 1997, this service was decentralized. The decentralization saw the closure of the Suva Youth Employment Options Centre and the redeployment of resources to the divisional offices, namely, Central, Maritime, Western and Northern Divisions. Government has been spending about $0.2 million per year on this project. On average, about 3,000 youths visit these centres annually (for counseling, skill training, attachment, etc) and about 380 youths are to secure permanent employment each year. This however, does not take into account those who have ventured into starting their own business foe self-employment and the 61% of clients that the center is unable to get feedback from. The Centre through its Careers education program organizes a number of activities whereby young people can have access to careers information. Such activities are: (a) Careers talk (b) Job search seminars (c) Newspaper articles and radio programmes (d) Careers expo; and (e) The publication of posters, pamphlets, and other brochures and booklets on careers information. The National Youth Training Camp (NYTC) was established in 1991 and provides basic training in Agricultural, leadership, vocational skills business management and home economics. The camp is now the centre of National Youth Services for the Western Division. The Japanese Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) became part of this camp in 1992, providing training in Agriculture with a strong emphasis on motivation and self-discipline. The operation of this Institute is funded jointly by the Fiji Government and OISCA, a Japanese NGO. Government has spent about $1.5 million in the running of the NYTC over the last 6 years. In 1996, the OISCA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was renewed for another 5 years. Viti Corp Company Ltd was established in 1995 through the purchase of the agricultural assets of Consolidated Agriculture Fiji Limited (CONAG) farm in Navua and set up the Viti Corps Company is a further manifestation of governments commitment to broaden the training base and development potential of your young people. In the Governments strategic plan for the new century Policies and Strategies for the Sustainable Development of Fiji, the governments goal is to develop and employ youth. The current status of youth development is that, the youth represent 20% of the total population. About 18,000 of these attend schools each year of which 14,500 enter the labour market, almost all in search of formal sector paid employment. The formal sector can absorb only 8,000 of these job seekers. Rural-urban migration has added further pressure on employment generation. Training schemes in place since the late eighties include National Youth Service, Youth Employment Option Training Programme and National Youth Training Camp. Further schemes are to be introduced as part of the Integrated HRD Programme. The Governments Policy Objectives include: (a) To promote cultural, educational and recreational programmes for youths; (b) To promote career guidance to school leavers so that they can become effective contributors to the economy; (c) To provide training to upgrade vocational, leadership and management skills; (d) To guide young people towards income earning activities including self-employment; and (e) To develop small business management skills in youths. The key performance and accountability indicators include: (a) Training opportunities for school leavers increased by 5% annually; (b) Number of income generating projects operated by youths increased by 75% (2000); (c) 95% of all those trained by Ministry of Youth, Employment Opportunities and Sports, obtain employment or be self-employed; and (d) Increased number of non-government youth organizations involved in character building programmes. |