Hundreds of young people have taken part in
first of a kind job fairs in Somalia as part of a week of International
Youth Day celebrations in the country. The fairs were held in Galmadug,
Hirshabelle, South West State, Jubaland and Puntland from 12th to the
16th August, and gave young people the opportunity to showcase their
trades and products, with businesses and government officials providing
information on internships, job placement, and career guidance in some
states.
Telecommunication companies, printing companies, construction
companies, and small businesses attended the fairs to meet the young
people. Before each job fair Government officials in each state met with
young people to discuss the outcomes they would like to see from the
events.
The job fairs were run by the Galmadug Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Labour and
Social Affairs in Hirshabelle and South West State, the Jubaland
Ministry of Youth and Sport and the Puntland Ministry of Labour, Youth
and Sports, in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs. They were supported by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), as part of a Somali Government and UN Youth Employment
Somalia (YES) initiative.
International Youth Day is commemorated every year on the 12th August
to draw attention to youth issues worldwide. In Somalia, lack of
concrete employment opportunities for youth and lack of social safety
nets has meant that young people become involved militant groups and in
piracy.
To address this, the Government of Somalia has committed to create
employment and opportunities for young people in its 2017-2019 National
Development Plan. The Youth Employment Somalia Programme supports this
work by creating sustainable and short-term job opportunities for young
people through demand-driven vocational skills training, enterprise
development and labour-intensive infrastructure development in key
sectors such as fisheries, solar energy and construction. Over 1200
young men and women have received vocational and life skill training
under the YES Programme in 2018, and the job fairs are considered a
critical component in connecting and helping young people learn more
about commercial trades, entrepreneurship and livelihoods skills.
The Youth Employment Somalia Programme is implemented by five UN
agencies working as one in partnership with the Government, private
sector and civil society, led by the Federal Ministry of Labour and
Social Affairs. The UN agencies are: the Food and Agriculture
Organisation of the UN (FAO), the International Labour Organisation
(ILO), UN-Habitat, the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The programme is funded by Denmark, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland as well as the UN Peace Building Fund (PBF).