Youth challenges

A Sri Lankan has been selected as the United Nations Youth envoy and while all Sri Lankans can be proud of Jayathma Wickramanayake, policymakers should use it as an opportunity to cast a fresh eye on challenges faced by youth in the country. 

The youth unemployment rate in Sri Lanka decreased to 21% in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 21.60% in the third quarter of 2016. This rate averaged 19.77% from 2011 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 21.70% in the third quarter of 2014 and a record low of 15.40% in the fourth quarter of 2015.

As a rapidly-ageing population opportunities for economic growth with an expanding labour force will disappear much faster for Sri Lankans. In fact, to maintain robust economic growth, Sri Lanka will require a combination of increased labour force participation, expanded employment opportunities, and higher rates of productivity growth. The economic implications of producing these necessary conditions are serious. 

Until the labour force starts shrinking, Sri Lanka will have the largest absolute cohort of young people the country is likely ever to have. This one-time demographic bonus will present the opportunity for a last spurt in economic growth if these young people are engaged in productive employment. If they are not equipped with the necessary skills, however, and if the economy is unable to generate sufficient numbers of good jobs, the next decade may usher in an era of more intense and prolonged youth unrest amid slower growth.

Technical education and vocational training can be important in enhancing the employability of new entrants to the labour markets by providing jobs skills that are not taught in the general education system. Unfortunately such training programs are concentrated in the Western Province, where jobless rates are already relatively low. Another reason might concern the training itself as they are hampered by outdated study programs, inadequate teachers and teaching aids, irrelevant industrial training, and insufficient practical work.

Another recognised employment strategy for youth is entrepreneurship training that can lead to business creation and expansion. However policymakers have failed to pursue long-term strategies for creating an enabling sociocultural and regulatory environment to support business in general and entrepreneurship in particular has been a serious gap in Sri Lanka. Even startups are given targeted support but an overall environment for innovation and risk taking is not encouraged. 

Policy directions require actions in two interlinked arenas. One is education and training, and the other is the labour market. The first arena must prepare young people to be able to participate productively in the economy, be it as salary workers or as self-employed and entrepreneurs, taking into account that the labour force of the future needs to be not only better skilled but also more creative and adaptable. 

But producing a highly-skilled workforce is not enough: to make the most of Sri Lanka’s human resources, a supportive, effective labour market, coupled with effective institutional arrangements of tripartite (Government, employers’ organisations, and trade unions) social dialogue, must ensure that enough decent employment opportunities and good jobs are created so that such resources are optimally used and that adequate signals are produced to guide young people when deciding about their education paths and careers. Youth want respect and a voice to shape the world.