ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, November 29th, 2011 – With an aim to provide evidence based policy choices, Minister for Education and Culture Honourable Myron V. Walwyn is seeking the cooperation of all unemployed youth in the Territory for the creation of a Youth Unemployment Register (YUR).

With this initiative, Minister Walwyn through the Ministry of Education will develop a measured approach to provide both short and long term benefits to address youth unemployment.

According to the Minister, “Short term benefits of the registry will be to immediately match unemployed youth with jobs through the Labour Department and long term benefits include a revision of the education policy to make students more marketable and increase their likelihood for employment.”

Youth between the ages of 18 to 30 years, who are seeking employment are asked to register their names along with pertinent information such as education level and skills set at the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports for compilation. Registration opens on Wednesday, November 30 between the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m and will continue until Monday, December 12.

In an invited comment to the Department of Information and Public Relations highlighting the benefits of the register, Minister Walwyn said, “The Ministry and Department of Education will use the register to identify and make necessary adjustments in the education curricula offered to students. The information will inform Government of areas and skill sets needed to improve young people to adequately find employment after secondary school.”

Minister Walwyn continued, “The information gained will also alter or introduce programmes, provide structured apprenticeships for practical training and eventually improve certification to better the likelihood of employment for youth.”

Once compiled, the register will be handed over to the Minister for Natural Resources and Labour Dr. The Honourable Kedrick Pickering for the Labour Department to match available jobs with unemployed youth.

Hon. Walwyn added, “Over the course of the next four years, Government will be working to advance this Territory and in order for anything we do to be sustainable, we must make sure that our young people are apart of this advancement in every aspect.”

“Government is committed to properly understanding where our young people are and what qualifications they need to match the skills needed in the Territory’s workforce,” he explained, adding, “From that we will carve out a plan to ensure that as our economy expands with jobs and opportunities becoming available, our young people will not only be willing, but qualified and have first preference to those opportunities.”

He stated, “We cannot continue importing labour while the percentage of unemployed young people continues to climb.”

The Minister added, “The private sector is asked to do their civic responsibility by ensuring that young people have the opportunity to apply and be seriously considered for jobs. This is expected to be one of the benefits of the registry.”

Minister Walwyn continued, “We have made a commitment to our young people and we need to adequately prepare them to manage these islands. Ensuring that they can be employed and are productive, contributing members of our society is an appropriate start.”

The creation of the Youth Unemployment Register (YUR) will help Government assess the status of disadvantaged and unemployed youth. Once operational, the database will serve as a medium to support young workers and integrate youth into the labour market.

It will also serve as an information base for Government to plan policies that will address employment and education.

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