The Ministry of Youth and Sports says it will begin to employ some 25,000 young people across the country in June this year, Minister Eugene Nagbe has disclosed.
Addressing a regular Ebola Hour, at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism Wednesday, Minister Nagbe disclosed that the World Bank had committed to fund an initial $15 million threshold of the Youth Opportunities Project (YOP) under the auspices of the Liberia Youth Empowerment Program (LYEP).
The YOP, a “hardware” component of the LYEP is considered crucial to the Ministry’s current youth development agenda and according to Minister Nagbe, is significantly focused on technical and vocational education for young people across the country.
“An initial threshold amount of 15 million has been identified by the World Bank to fund the project. Other partners have given us positive outlook regarding funding participation,” Minister Nagbe added. “By Friday, February 6, 2015, the World Bank and the government of Liberia represented by the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Gender, Children and Social Protection and Finance and Development Planning will issue an aide memoire outlining the scope and commitments to the project.”
He said the YOP will focus on both rural and urban youth under the Pre-employment Social Support and Household Enterprises for Urban Youth, the Life Skills Support and Productive Public Works for Rural Youth and Cash Transfer.
The Cash Transfer component aims at providing consumption smoothings to households that are extremely poor and affected by Ebola, the Life Skills provide vulnerable youth in the rural areas with immediate consumption smoothing support through short-term income earning opportunities and investment in livelihood activities in their communities, and the Pre-employment Social Support and Household Enterprises for Urban Youth is meant to increase the employment preparedness of youth by supporting the development of non-cognitive skills among others.
Minister Nagbe added that the vocational training institutes across the country would be opened to students as funding has been provided for such program in the national budget and would enable young people acquire skills in various vocations.
“By the end of this month, the Klay Agricultural and Vocational Training Center will open its door to students in the western cluster area. The recruited young people will acquire training in poultry production, management of piggery, production of vegetables amongst others.
“Also, the TUMUTU Agricultural Center based in Salala Bong County will be opened in April with the hope of initially enrolling over 300 students in demand-driven disciplines.”