Context: The longer-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Maldivian economy have led to many challenges, including limited job prospects for the country’s youth. In 2020, the estimated youth unemployment rate in the Maldives was 17.7 per cent. Since 2014, there has been a gradual rise in the rate of youth (ages 15–24) unemployment, due to an increasingly competitive job market and a lack of employment opportunities. The gender gap among the working-age population continues to widen; the Government is, therefore, devising strategies and initiatives to address this.
Implementation of programme/ initiative: In 2019, the ‘Enhancing Employability and Resilience of Youth’ (MEERY) project began to be implemented by the Maldivian Government’s Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Economic Development, and the World Bank; it is a five-year project, with a total budget of USD 20 million. The project aims to foster livelihoods amid the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing employability among youth by providing them with entrepreneurship training relevant to the current job market. This is in line with the broader mission of addressing the high rates of those not in education, employment or training (NEET), encouraging youth to have greater independence and increase their economic contributions to society. The project also addresses the need for gender equality in the job market by providing women with more opportunities to contribute to the national economy. MEERY works to overcome the major challenges youth face by creating more vocational education and training opportunities, enhancing skill development and encouraging entrepreneurship in order to address the skills gap between youth and industry employers. MEERY’s initiatives are in line with the achievement of five major Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: SDG 1 (no poverty); SDG 4 (quality education); SDG 5 (gender equality); SDG 8 (decent work and economic grown) and SDG 17 (partnership for the goals).
Main challenges: One of the initiative’s main challenges is the limited number of courses on offer. Due to the lack of job opportunities available to youth, including recent graduates, the need for job creation is high. During the enrolment of the first batch of students, numerous courses were still being developed, limiting the amount of choice and scope of available industries and job areas.
Results achieved: Project implementation is ongoing, with 63 active procurement activities. More courses are currently being developed and scheduled to commence in late 2021, including entrepreneurship, personal skills development and waste management training. So far, there are a total of 4,800 businesses participating in the project. Partnerships have been made with registered employers to ensure that permanent jobs are offered to promising candidates. Online courses under ‘Skills for Resilient Work Force’ have also been introduced; at the time of writing (August 2021), 59 students have been enrolled. Of these, 35 are female. As part of the course, students are required to complete an internship programme by enrolling in a course which combines theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience within the field they choose. Some 40 per cent of students have completed the theory and practical stages of the online course and are now seeking internships or securing job placements.
Moving Forward: Looking ahead, the project aims to help 1,200 students annually. The 21st Century Skills Strategy has been targeted and scheduled towards the end of the project. This strategy would incorporate the project’s current results and reflect good practices and areas to improve on. This would be included as a part of one of the deliverables in the development of the project’s ‘master plan’. The final 21st Century Skills Strategy is set to commence in December 2023.
Replicability: MEERY’s focus on innovative entrepreneurship for youth, especially females, is an exemplary response to a post-COVID-19 future, which entails a highly increasing demand for a digitized society. MEERY is determined to foster a culture of informed risk-taking by inculcating valuable skills through boot camps that train youth, including female entrepreneurs, on the essentials of innovation, commercialization, building robust business models and establishing successful businesses with advancing technologies. Initiatives replicating MEERY’s approach of focused skills development would, therefore, help equip youth with increased aptitude and knowledge to go ahead and pursue and succeed in their own innovative ventures.
Acknowledgement:
This good practice was kindly prepared by Ms. Alysha Brahmantiara Putri.
References:
https://meeryproject.mohe.gov.mv/
Project Details
Date: August 13, 2021