By Mabinty M. Kamara
Emphasising the need to be job-ready after formal or informal education, Sierra Leone’s Vice President has called on job seekers mostly youths to develop social intelligence which he said is what is needed to maintain a job.
Speaking at the 2023 National Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Fair at the Freetown International Conference Centre, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh P.h.D. said that someone may need a certificate and skills to get a job, but both cannot keep the person in the Job.
“What we call technical competence can give you a job that is not enough to keep you in the job. What you need is social intelligence. That is the capacity to build relationships and respect people and take responsibility,” he said.
The conference which brought together about 500 youths from across Sierra Leone and 40 investors and employers was the second of its kind in the country and was held on the theme, ‘creating employment, entrepreneurship and growth opportunities for the development of future-ready youth’
The Vice President emphasized government’s commitment to ensure that they invest in the future of young people through such engagement.
“The whole idea about NYEEF is to build the bridge. We want to build the bridge between skill sets and opportunities. We want to bring young, young graduates, people with skills to meet face to face with potential employers and entrepreneurs so that they can have a platform where their opportunities will be tapped so that it becomes a starting point for them either to gain access to a decent job or to start their own businesses,” he said.
He acknowledged the youth unemployment challenges facing the country as with other nations across the globe and the growing number of the country’s population and access to education. This he said is the more reason for the Big Five game changer manifesto of which he said job creation stands second. The Vice president encouraged the delegates of the conference to make the best out of it, noting that a lot of testimonies came out of last year’s conference.
In her statement, the representative of the United Nations Resident Coordinator emphasized the relevance of the youth in every country’s growth and development. She commended the efforts of organisers of the conference to ensure inclusiveness by increasing the participation of women and persons with disability.
In his statement, one of the Private sector partners of the programme, the Executive Director of Sonoko, a bakery company operating in Sierra Leone said his company is committed to the growth of the African continent through entrepreneurship and job creation. “From our base in Guinea, Sonoko is spreading its wings widely. We invested heavily in Sierra Leone across multiple segments including a fifty million dollar investment in a major flour mill to meet the needs of all Sierra Leoneans. We have an investment in food crop business, investment in real estate business and investment of course in our cherished bread avenue,” he said.
He admonished the participants to work hard, saying that success cannot be achieved without hard work. He referred to the fair as a catalyst for the growth and development of young people. He mentioned the launch of the Bread Avenue Academy in conjunction with the National Council for Technical and Vocational Education. The academy, he said, will contribute to the skills development of young people in pastry and bakery skills alongside entrepreneurship skills.
In his statement, the Minister of Youth Affairs, Mohamed Orman Bangura encouraged the youths to be self-disciplined and to take responsibility for their actions, adding that their future is in their hands and not in anyone else’s. He highlighted the strides made by his ministry and by extension the government to ensure that the youthful population gets access to skills development, job opportunities, and access to finance with minimal challenge.
Speaking to Politico, Gloria Taylor, a final year student at Njala University in Bo expressed hope that the conference will create a possible link between her and employers as she completes her university education. "I believe that it will not only help me get a job but I will be inspired to create a job for myself and other young people in Bo. That is what I am looking forward to during this four-day event," he said.
The maiden event was held last year during which a lot of inspiring experiences were shared by participants who benefitted one way or the other from the investors.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (15/11/23)
