‘Job creation key to advancement’

AMMAN — (J.T) - Creating jobs for young people is fundamental for the advancement of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which suffers the highest unemployment rate in the world, experts said Tuesday.

They said governments in the MENA region should come up with short-term strategies to secure jobs for the younger generation, noting that the situation is alarming and swift measures should be taken in this regard.

“Young people in the Arab world cannot wait any longer. They need immediate solutions that help them find jobs,” Al Hadi Al Arabi, World Bank Middle East and North Africa department director, said during the Youth@Work Partnerships for Skills Development conference.

Unemployment, which stands at 30 per cent in the Middle East and 34 per cent in North Africa, costs the Arab world about $50 billion annually, he said, adding that the region needs to create new 80 million jobs over the next 20 years.

“All are required to help... as the current conditions of young people in the Arab world not only deprive them from enjoying a better life and true independence, but also negatively affect the economies of their countries,” he said during the conference held under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania.

Mohammad Al Twaijiri, assistant secretary general for economic affairs at the Arab League, echoed similar sentiments.

“The high percentages of unemployment and poverty in the Arab world led to the so-called Arab Spring and its imbalances,” he said at a conference session yesterday.

Twaijiri added that unemployment in the oil-rich states of the Gulf Cooperation Council currently stands at 42 per cent among the younger generation.

“A lack of genuine economic growth in the Arab world is another reason that causes unemployment. Economic growth in the Arab states is an illusion as it does not lead to jobs and does not reflect on society,” he noted.

In light of high unemployment in the Arab world, conference participants called for supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and involving the private sector in strategies to combat unemployment.

They also called for providing training to youths on skills needed in the market.

“The education sector in the Arab world lacks communication with the private sector and this leads to a gap in skills among graduates. The private sector should be involved in developing curricula,” Haneen Sayed, human development coordinator at the World Bank, said during the conference.

“There is a need for openness in investment in early childhood development in the Arab world,” she added.

“The majority of young Arabs do not rely on employment agencies to find jobs, but rather they rely on contacts and wasta,” Sayed said, stressing the need to equip them with different kinds of cognitive, socio-emotional and technical skills to join the labour market.

Participants said the younger generation is key to change in the region, stressing the importance of integrating them in the decision-making process and activating their genuine participation in the society.

“Young people are at the very core of changing world events,” said Ronan Farrow, special adviser to the US secretary of state for the Global Youth Issues, adding that the young people in the region represent a great potential to trigger economic and social reforms.