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Herald Reporter
Government and its stakeholders must come up with initiatives to improve the employment prospects of vulnerable youths, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare secretary Mr Ngoni Masoka has said. Mr Masoka told participants at a youth employment workshop organised by the African Regional Labour Administration Centre in Harare yesterday that there was need to improve capacity for entrepreneurship among youths.

He said this could be done through improved access to high quality, relevant educational and training opportunities.
“Nowadays concerns and investments still largely concentrate on youth unemployment and discontent as they are more visible and have increasingly become more manifest in the current economic crisis,” said Mr Masoka.

“Member countries of ARLAC are, therefore, invited to develop strategies and specific country initiatives to improve the employment prospects of vulnerable young men and women.
“This encompasses general socio-economic and rural development projects that target the youths and directly address youths employment needs.”

Mr Masoka said Government was expected to undertake specific actions to support youth employment by negotiating with employers.
He said skills development was critical to maximising opportunities for the youths and generate employment growth.

“Connecting skills development for the vulnerable youths to the broader growth, employment and development strategies, requires that Government and social partners build policy coherence in linking such education and skills development to today’s labour markets and to the technology, investment trade and macro-economic policies that generate employment growth,” Mr Masoka said. The four-day workshop is being held under the theme, “Innovative Practices on Skills Training for Employment of Vulnerable Youths.”

Speaking at the same workshop, ARLAC director Mr Dan Neburagho, said the workshop was expected to come up with appropriate education and training policies to promote human development, economic and employment growth, as well as poverty eradication, among youths.

“We hope to strengthen the capacity of the member states and institutions in the development of policies and programmes that will foster or develop innovation and creative skills of youths in rural and urban informal economies with a view to promoting their employability and livelihoods,” he said.

The workshop was attended by delegates from nine countries —Nigeria, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
According to the International Labour Organisation, an estimated 73 million young people are unemployed worldwide, three times more are underemployed and a further 621 million youths are not in education, employment or training.