By: Precious Miracle Kargbo
On the grounds to create more opportunities and ensure that youths are actively engaged and empowered through their different skills, crafts and professions.
The vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has affirmed that the vision of the President is to ensure that they create five thousand jobs and opportunities by bringing youths and employers to the same room for more corporations and investments in the near future.
He made this statement at the grand opening of the National Youth and Employment Entrepreneurship Fair at the Bintumani conference hall in Freetown, on November 13th, 2023.
To start with, Vice President Juldeh Jalloh ascertained that the Government through his office started this fair with the sole objective of creating opportunities for young people in particular to easily locate jobs, meet employers and as job seekers to be equated with the knowledge on how to apply and secure these jobs in order to be productive to society. He furthers that he is fully aware as a Sierra Leonean and as a government that there are a lot of challenges which involves job creation and youth employment challenges but reassured that it is the main reason why President Julius Maada Bio has made it a top priority taking it as the second on the list of big Five agenda in his project during this term of office.
Dr Jalloh proceeds that the vision of the President resonates on addressing every challenges in Sierra Leone and that is the main reason why they have taken the practical strategies to these problems.
He recommended the essence of the fair as they are on the right track to solve the employment problem, thus highlighting the main reason which is to concentrate on job creation and employment opportunities.
The Honorable Vice President took his time to appeal to every youth on seeing the fair as an opportunity for their different careers as this will bring their crafts and skillsets to their employers in one room serving as a starting point to secure opportunities of decent jobs or gain experience which will enable them set up their own business and establishment in the near future.
Additionally, Mohamed Orman Bangura, the Minister of Youth Affairs confirms that the fair is a four day event which should render every youth to work on themselves, create a plan and have a clear vision and solution on the nest steps of their lives. He intimated that since the President and Vice President created the National Youth Service they have not rejected anyone and can now record over four thousand graduates that have made it through the commission, as that no one has the right to blame government in their lives once they are over 18 every man or woman must be responsible for every actions in his or her life. Orman closed, by encouraging Youth’s to use the fair platform to connect and speak with people that help in achieving their different dreams and aspirations.
Intermittently, the Deputy Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security Mohamed LansanaDumbuya maintained that their Ministry is responsible for overseeing employment and job opportunities in the country and they have organized a lot of encouraging laws for the working force in Sierra Leone. He went on to say that universities and institutions should carefully look into the curriculum which the Ministry have created so that they will ensure that the right knowledge and expertise is with anyone who attaints any position for any job bearing the fact that a lot of lucrative jobs in the country have been lost to foreigners.
Conclusively, participants who were present at the fair applauded the government and all ministries for their initiative on creating the platform to solve the issue of unemployment that most youths in the country are going through, they also assured that they will use the fair as an opportunity to equip and empower themselves with the right perspective of attaining success in the corporate world.