By Alusine Fullah

Sierra Leone’s youth is rapidly growing – a significant promise for the country’s future, but a currently untapped potential due to high unemployment. Sierra Leone’s burgeoning youth population stands at a crossroads. They signify both a beacon of hope and a source of concern. We see a demographic dividend waiting to be unlocked, and with it a generation that can actively drive economic growth as well as social progress in our country. This youth cohort is a reservoir of untapped energy, creativity and innovation. The 2023 general elections have also shown what a significant voting bloc they form. Half of the 3 million eligible voters were below the age of 35.

But how can they tap their potential when there are few rooms for employment. As every year thousands of young people graduate from universities/ colleges. It constantly begs: where are the jobs?

In order to reduce youth employment, in its 2023 manifesto, the New Direction Government committed to creating 500,000 jobs for the youth in five years through a targeted Presidential Initiative on Job Creation for the Youth. In that manifesto, the PAOPA Government firmly assured to deliberately create the right environment and seek out opportunities for the youth through both the public and private sector including in; public works, food production, agro-processing, the creative industry, digital and green jobs.

However, looking at the high rate of unemployment rate in the country, it seems that even an iota of efforts has not been made to address this issue.