By Foday Moriba Conteh
The youth population in Sierra Leone makes up more than one third of the country’s total population, and the rate of youth unemployment still remains very high. Lack of employable skills is among many other factors that is responsible for the high rate of youth unemployment in the country. Many Sierra Leonean youths lack both technical skills to secure gainful employment and also entrepreneurship education as an option for self-employment.
As a result of these challenges, a good number of these young people settle for jobs that are low paying or unsafe. There is also an increasing number of youths, especially those without formal jobs that are now turning into irregular migration as a solution to the lack of opportunities at home. A lot of Youths in the country have come to perceive irregular migration as a way to escape from poverty. They embark on perilous ‘backway’ journeys with the intention of reaching Europe or in the Middle East where they think they could get employment to support their families.
“To effectively combat irregular migration in Sierra Leone, we need to address youth unemployment and underemployment in the country through vocational and entrepreneurial education”, says Dr. James Bagonza, IOM Sierra Leone Head of Office .
Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is a crucial element for youth empowerment as it can link youth skills with employers’ needs. So, bringing technical and vocational training closer to the needs of a changing labour market can help young people move into more productive and sustainable jobs.
On the 2nd of June, IOM, as part of the Reducing the Risk of Irregular Migration through Promotion of Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone project, funded by the Government of Japan donated equipment and materials to the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE) to help vocational centers deliver the hard and soft skills needed by young people to enter the local labour market.
The equipment donated includes laptop computers, motorbikes and equipment necessary for the smooth operation of the TVET directorate, and government technical institutes (GTIs) in Bo and Kailahun districts.
“We are proud to collaborate and support MTHE through the directorate of TVET and GTIs to strengthen the capacity of TVET training in the country and as well to equip youth with market -driven skills and create sustainable employments and livelihoods”, said Dr James Bagonza, IOM Sierra Leone Head of Office a.i. . “TVET education is not cheap by any measure. The donated items will go a long way to strengthen the capacity of TVET training in the country. I have no doubt that this is a positive step towards that desired capacity we all want.” Dr Bagonza added.
The Deputy Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr Turad Senesie, in his statement noted the relevance of TVET in reducing the risk of irregular migration.
“What you are doing now in terms of supporting skills training is more or else helping people not to take the risk to embark on irregular migration, and that is a laudable venture, and it is what we supposed to be doing for people in Africa’’, said Dr Senessie.
In February this year, IOM collaborated with MTHE to organize a TVET workshop for officials from vocational training centers and private companies to disseminate the IOM “Technical and Vocational Education Training” (TVET) methodology which consists in providing a demand driven technical and vocational education that matches youth skills training and targeted companies’ occupation skills and demands.
IOM will work closely with some of the vocational centers/GTIs to conduct high quality technical and vocational skills trainings for youths in Bo, Kailahun, Western Urban and Rural districts. The trainings which will target youths mostly outside the formal educational system will be done to respond to the country’s labour market demand, improve young people’s skills, and boost their chances of finding employment thereby dissuading them from embarking on dangerous journeys.
IOM will also work with private companies including Sierra Tropical Limited to provide internship opportunities for the trainees.
