Ram: Jobless youths a challenge

 YOUTH employment is a major challenge in Papua New Guinea and an increasing concern at national level, Commonwealth Youth Programme manager in the Pacific, Sushil Ram said yesterday

The National Youth Commission, in partnership with other key stakeholders, is hosting a two-day workshop in Port Moresby to discuss ways to tackle the issue.

Ram said youth employment problems could not be tackled through fragmented and isolated interventions but require sustained and concerted action.

He said the PNG national youth employment framework should be an operational document, the result of the application of a methodology to steer country action on youth employment on the basis of a common agreement reached by interested parties.

He said the framework should be country-owned and context-specific.

“There is no one-size-fits-all model, but there are commonalities in the problems faced and in the policy responses, strategies and instruments developed by different countries.”

Ram urged that in order for a youth framework to be effective, strong political intervention must be commitment by the government and wide numbers of actors, including policymakers from government agencies, employers and workers’ organisations.