Youths and Sports Minister Cole Baganlu is recommending the reintroduction of career counseling in Liberian schools to help young people select their future careers.
Making the recommendation recently at the USAID Youth Advance Activity in collaboration with the Ministry of Youths and Sports at a ceremony held in Congo Town, Minister Cole Baganlu said each college and high school in the country should have career counselors to advise students in selecting their lifetime professions.
According to him, before the Civil War, there were career guidance programs in schools and colleges to help students in their fields of study, but regrettably, the Minister says he does not hear about them anymore.
"As a result of the periling situation, most of these students these days do not know what they are getting into."
The Minister continued that the private sector is the place where jobs are created because the government is not the place to look for jobs, noting that a lot of people come to us for employment, but the government only creates the environment for the creation of jobs.
Minister Baganlu thanked the USAID Youth Advance Activity for providing an avenue for young people to acquire employable skills and job experiences.
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"Most of the time when you hear about the issue of young people, one only thinks of disadvantaged youths, but since I became Minister, I have observed that many young people are doing very little to contribute their quotas to the society."
Also speaking, USAID Mission Director Jim Wright said the United States government places tremendous value in collaborating with the private sector to address complex development challenges such as youth unemployment and climate change.
He said such challenges simply cannot be solved by government, donors, and civil society organizations alone, but they require innovation, expertise, knowledge, influence, and resources that only the private sector can bring to the table.
"I want to recognize the shining examples of private sector leadership while acknowledging the countless stories of dedication, perseverance, and success, and it is through our visionary collaboration we have witnessed the transformative power of work-based learning and internships," Mr. Wright noted.
He said together, "We have trained 117 young people to support some start mission of providing affordable renewable energy solutions across Liberia."
He explained that this partnership is not only empowering youths with essential skills but also accelerating some start-up operations and expanding their reach to more communities, driving sustainable development and fostering a brighter future for all.
"Let's remember that each success story represents the dedication, hard work, and determination we all have put into the project."
Meanwhile, he explained that significant achievements have been made together with the support of the U.S. government, but the journey is far from over, rallying all stakeholders to continue to collaborate in order to strive and help more young people achieve success.
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In remarks, the Chief of Party of the USAID Youth Advance Activity, Steve Kamanzi, assured the Liberian government that his institution will endeavor to provide training skills to youths and enable them to gain experience.
He thanked USAID and the various entities for their cooperation in successfully training young Liberians in various skills.
The program, held under the theme: "Partnering For Skilled, Productive and Resilient Youths," was graced by representatives of entities that offer job training experiences to youths, beneficiaries of the training, the Mission Director of USAID, Jim Wrights, among others.
