Abuja - Nigeria — Regional gender and youth employment experts have concluded a two-day meeting in Abuja during which they reviewed the ECOWAS Draft Youth Employment Action Plan. Dr. Tarfa Sintiki, ECOWAS Director for Gender, Youth, Employment and Drug Control, who chaired the 21th-22th February 2012 meeting at the ECOWAS Commission's headquarters, said the objective was to develop an action plan to increase decent employment opportunities for youths in the region.

A youth employment specialist, Mrs. Maria McLaughlin, who presented the results of her study on youth employment in West Africa, identified high-level of poverty, under employment and unemployment in the region, as some of the challenges that confront youth in the region. Others are the non- existence of youth action plans in Member States, weakness in university systems which results in graduates entering the labour market with outdated knowledge and the lack of vocational education.

To address these problems, she recommended that the 10 ECOWAS Member States that are yet to establish National Action Plan for youth employment should do so. In addition, she called for a training policy with uniform and quality certification for Member States, promotion of self-employment through small and medium enterprises as entrance for youths into the labour market.

Mrs. McLaughlin also called for a Labour Market Information system and an effective free movement policy to facilitate the migration of youths in search of experience and job opportunities in the ECOWAS region. The next review meeting has been fixed for 12th -16th March 2012, in Cotonou, Benin Republic.