Can we ease the (hard) journey for Cameroon’s youth?

Youth unemployment is a truly serious problem in Cameroon today and the world at-large. Unemployment rate in Cameroon (2009) stood at 40% with the Youth being 13% of the bulk. Arguments for and against minimum wages are a distraction. Cameroon needs to invest in professional trainings within the educational sector if we truly want to smooth and accelerate young people’s transition into the world of work. If not, the Cameroonian youth will continue to find it hard to overcome their chief disadvantage: the lack of undeveloped talents and lack of work experience,  failure to understand their dream and way forward after graduation, not understanding what employers and recruiters want... The education and training system design is a strong driver of successful integration. National systems that generate low levels of professional educational attainment fail to provide sufficient flows of skilled personnel for knowledge-based societies. Countries that rely exclusively on higher levels of general education risk not providing sufficient high-skill jobs for their university graduates.

With the end of “job for life” expectations from employers, young people must boost their own employability and acquire transferable skills as their part of the “job seeking competition” bargain in Cameroon. At the individual level, better skills and knowledge are the best guarantee for successful transitions into work and during (an increasingly) long working life. By contrast, unemployment in one’s youth can permanently damage employability.

There may be a shortage of highly-trained workers, but the vast majority of graduating students do not fulfil the skill requirements and thus will find it increasingly difficult to obtain jobs. Making selective changes to the training offered at schools, universities and within the business world are not sufficient. Youth need to make the difference in all they do. Now is the time to invest in young people and in the future of this country.

However, with the trend in youth long-term unemployment rising, Altpere Consulting will be organising a seminar that will offer a timely opportunity to job seekers to understand the key issues that must be addressed to provide them with the comprehensive, integrated support they need to create a distinction during job search and prevent them from falling into unemployment.