In recognition of World Youth Skills Day, July 15, 2019, the Ministry of Youth Affairs joined the United Nations to recognize and celebrate young Sierra Leoneans with skills development, creative and artistic talents.
Like the United Nations, the Ministry of Youth Affairs believes skills change lives. Through the power of skills, individuals, communities, and countries have propelled towards a more prosperous future.
Youth Skills Day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. The UN resolution declared 15th July as World Youth Skills Day. The goal is to achieve better socio-economic conditions for today’s youth as a means of addressing the challenges of unemployment and under employment.
The Ministry believes this annual day will not go unnoticed and therefore it is raising the awareness on the importance of youth developing skills. The Youth Ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Technical and Higher Education is proud to be part of a global recognition and promotion of skills through their Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) as prescribed in the country’s Medium Term Development plan-2019 to 2023. TVET can equip youth with the skills required to access the world of work, including skills for self-employment. TVET can also improve responsiveness to changing skill-demands by companies, increase productivity and increase wage levels. The programme seeks to reduce access barriers to the world of work. TVET can also offer skills development opportunities for low-skilled people who are under- or unemployed, out of school youth and individuals not in education, employment and training.
In support of this year’s theme: “Learning to learn for life and work,” the Ministry in a statement says it wants to assure the general public that it will engage the media to tell the importance of the day and also encourage young people to be steadfast and believe that their skills and creativity will help contribute in transforming their communities.
