Youth unemployment remains a top priority for the Fiji Labour Party as they push their agenda ahead of the 2018 General Elections.
Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry says since 1987, the FLP has always carried the concerns of youth in their manifestos.
Chaudhry says FLP is proposing the creation of a National Youth Service Scheme.
“That’s very important because we have to find a way to keep the youth employed in some capacity. They just can’t be idling away because that is going to be disastrous. We have to keep them engaged and employed at least for a certain time until they are able to gain maturity sufficient enough to keep them out of trouble.”
The Party Leader says the scheme will focus on youth between the ages of 18 to 23.
It will be a three year program targeted for youth who are unable to attend universities or receive a formal education.
Chaudhry says the scheme will offer a certain amount of allowance for survival inclusive of training to gain necessary skills as a bridge to enter the employment market.
He claims this scheme will not cost too much but will see the youth of this nation prosper in the long run.
Meanwhile, the current unemployment rate for the country stands at 5.5 percent, the lowest it has been in 15 years.
