By Yusuf Ibrahim Kamara
It is almost very common for young people to sing songs of unemployment in Sierra Leone and you’d wonder why not.
Unemployment is a burning issue for good number of countries around the world and Sierra Leone is not exempted as the country faces a situation where the number of job vacancies is much less than the total number of job seekers. It’s also a condition where skilled and educated people do not find meaningful job despite having capacity and willingness to work. Over population, slow economic growth, seasonal occupations are some of the reasons of unemployment in Sierra Leone. Increasing unemployment can lead to increase in other social issues like crime, political instability, poverty, exploitation of labour, among others.
Youth Unemployment has long term direct and indirect economic, social, and health-related effect (notably in terms of mental health) for young people seeking work. Unemployed youths are often seen as members of lost generation, and their future earnings may remain below average well into their adult years. Although these rates could be problematic when considering developed countries that offer welfare opportunities for every citizen between the ages of 18 and 30 to pursue education.
One of the greatest issues in Sierra Leone or the world at large is the problem of unemployment which affects the youth and the economy of the country. Employment is very much vital for citizens; the reason is that maintaining the family is not easy without it. Due to unemployment people engage in wrong doings, sometimes go out of control, leading to idleness, disturbing the lives of citizens and sometimes become thieves in a particular country or a specific place.
Nevertheless, before I move forward to discuss more about youth unemployment, let me ask these questions: how many youths are ready to work? How many youths are self-employed? Because there are many people who are employed somewhere but they take it for granted until they are sacked before realizing the importance of being employed in our society. Sometimes, we should blame government of the day for failing to provide jobs for the youths or urge government to provide vocational centres for training youths and enhance their skills to provide needed services, and when a ruling government adheres to this it proves that that government really has the citizens at heart by providing livelihood for them. Again, how many graduates have created self-employment for themselves? Because sometimes, unemployment can also be caused by those that have learnt skilled jobs and those that have graduated from a university. Majority are complacent about setting up a business, which is a marvellous thing to do, but prefer working for someone the rest of their lives.
It goes without saying that such a topical issue will have unending perspectives and so it is important to understand its basics and dynamics. Everyone has a role to play to ensure that this subject matter is well addressed. Again, we should be reminded that government cannot do it all. So, our individual efforts plus or creativities also matter.
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Magazine on Monday, April 19th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
