Labour Minister Cooper W. Kruah, on Wednesday, outlined several recommendations to alleviate the current huge youth unemployment rate.
Kruah spoke at a major platform in Monrovia. The platform was organized by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning on the topic: “Youth Perspective on Liberia’s Future.” He said, the economic outlook of the youth is not in the ground, or in donor budget, but in digital economy, creative industry, agriculture value addition and the informal hustler market that keeps the country breathing.
The forum was held to galvanize views from a cross segment of the society, especially key public decision makers on finding lasting solutions to the surge in youth unemployment.
Mr. Kruah said, the economic outlook for the youth consists of several distinct, but overlapping pools.
He called for the establishment of enterprise funds for youth empowerment with zero collateral with a group of three to five guarantors and grace periods.
Kruah meanwhile, recommended a parallel certification system for vocational excellence for youth in solar panel installation, digital marketing, motorcycle repair, and food processing. He called on the government to lease or use land to a cooperative of over 100 young farmers for agro-production purpose.
Kruah recounted the ministry’s contributions that had empowered Liberian youth population.
For example, he recalled how in 2024, the Labour Ministry provided vocation jobs to over 300 young people, while in the following year, the number of vocation jobs beneficiaries increased to over 1,300 youth.
He then recommended for government to provide training plus a matching platform for the youth to get remote work from diaspora Liberians and international non-governmental organizations.