Partnership Public / Private: YEP Face The Suffering Of Youth Unemployment

The implementation at the beginning of the year the Youth Employment Programme (YEP), a joint initiative of government and the private sector to improve employability (employability) of young people is a beginning of a solution to this thorny problem which is also concerned with the Mauritius Employers' Federation, who argues that " joblessness among youths is particularly worrying as the youth unemployment rate is estimated at 25% for the third quarter of 2012. "

At the end of the program launched Tuesday by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Xavier-Luc Duval, some 5,000 of 30,000 young job seekers will benefit within 12 months of investment opportunities and business training against a monthly stipend of up to Rs 8,000 for non-university degree holders and Rs 15,000 for academics.

At the end of the week, 13 companies and at least a thousand unemployed young people are already registered at the secretariat of YEP to take advantage of these new opportunities. Asked by Weekend yesterday Makood Raj, Director of the Joint Economic Council, co-chair with Roland Dubois, Adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Skills Working Group, confirms that the first investments in the company will be involved in the YEP days come.

"Every effort is made to ensure that the partnership between the government and the private sector to solve this thorny problem of unemployment among youth to succeed. Side traders, we find that willingness to cooperate for our youth. To stage, the economic sectors with the greatest potential to attract young people to the program placement / training are textiles, where efforts to diversify products and markets began to pay dividends, the Seafood Hub or the building industry, even if the prospects do not seem as bright. We also plan to develop Tailor-Made Programs, "the director of the JEC.

However, the YEP website identifies several economic sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transportation, hospitality and catering, activities in the field of real estate, professional and technical services , administrative services, education, health, arts and recreation. Financial services and commercial sectors are excluded from the YEP.

The YEP, whose main function is to facilitate the transition from the world of education to labor, has three objectives, namely to facilitate the placement and job training for a period of twelve months, improving the employability of young and establish a reserve of skilled labor for employers. Registration of unemployed youth is done online on the website www.yep.mu with the Skills Working Group, ensuring the Matching Process to identify prospective employer duly registered or vice versa.

Employers' obligations are part of the YEP

• ensure placement for a period of one year for the job seeker,
• in case a contractor employs ten or more unemployed young people, it is required to maintain at least 50% post for a period of twelve months after the initial first year;
• to ensure that these young people operate under professional guidance and supervision;
• to provide them with the necessary tools and equipment;
• of acquiring insurance policies for these young;
• to submit reports on the progress made by young people every six months after placement.

Members of the Skills Working Group, which also includes representatives of the Human Resource Development Council, the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development, the Mauritius Qualifications Authority and MEF will make regular visits to companies forming part of the YEP. Repayment of the stipend paid by the employer to a maximum of Rs 7,500 for hiring an academic and Rs 4000 for a non-degree holder will be provided by the Office of Human Resource Development Council of presentation forms developed by the Skills Working Group. Expenses incurred for the training of young people will be reimbursed up to 50%, or a maximum of Rs 7500.

The government also plans to appoint a group of independent consultants to carry out monitoring and evaluation of program placement / training with the possibility of increasing the original budget if the need arises.