Harare — THE International Labour Organisation has launched the Youth Employment Support Jobs for the Unemployed and Marginalised young People (YESJUMP) in Zimbabwe.

This is the first of its kind in Zimbabwe and in this regard, ILO has provided seed funding for the drafting of the National Policy to be validated by the Tripartite Negotiating Forum in July this year. It is from there that a National Youth Employment Policy and National Action for Youth Employment will be drawn. The ILO is seeking to increase support to Zimbabwe in support of economic recovery efforts led by the Government. Creating jobs is one of the key deliverables of the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme.

Speaking at the official launch of the YESJUMP in Harare yesterday, ILO deputy regional director, Mr Jurgen Schewettman said within the international community, his organisation had a technical role to play in promoting youth employment. "Within expertise, tripartite constituency and global alliances, it can act as a catalyst in mobilising support and implementing integrated policies and programmes to effectively meet the Millennium Summit Declaration's commitment on decent and productive work for youth," said Mr Schewettman.

He said ILO's support to employment creation initiatives was inspired by the African Union Action plan, formulated from the Declaration on Employment and Poverty Alleviation in Africa, during the third extraordinary session of heads of state in Ouagadougou and Burkina Faso, in September 2004.

The declaration specifically called for the need to ensure equal opportunities for vulnerable and marginalised groups by developing and implementing strategies that give young people in Africa a real chance to find decent and productive work.

This will encourage African member states to support and adopt the Youth Employment Network initiatives and implement its recommendations therein with the support of the UN, ILO, the World Bank and other competent agencies as well as development partners.

Speaking at the same occasion the deputy minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Thamsanqa Mahlangu said the Government had realised that youth unemployment was a time bomb that required urgent response from all sectors of the economy. "No nation can move forward when its youths are trapped in circles of poverty, unemployment and are constrained by social and cultural values that hinder their development.

"Youths are the strength of the nation, they constitute the pillar upon which a nation is built. The potential has to be channelled and directed to enable them to play a constructive role in the socioeconomic development of the country," said the deputy minister.