UAT Calls for a National Youth Employment Compact
United African Transformation has called on government, employers and training institutions to agree a binding national compact on youth employment ahead of the next budget cycle.
MASERU — United African Transformation (UAT) today called for a National Youth Employment Compact, a binding agreement between government, private employers and training institutions to place young Basotho into paid work and structured apprenticeships within the next budget cycle.
Speaking at the party's national office in Maseru, the party said the current approach of short-term relief programmes has not produced lasting employment, and that young people leaving school and tertiary institutions continue to face a labour market with no clear entry point.
What the party is proposing
The compact would commit the parties to three measurable undertakings:
- A published intake target. Every participating employer and ministry states, in public, how many young Basotho it will take on each year and reports against it.
- Training tied to real demand. Technical and vocational programmes are aligned to the skills employers are actually recruiting for, rather than to course availability.
- Support for young entrepreneurs. A single, accessible channel for start-up capital, registration and market access, instead of the fragmented arrangements that exist now.
"Our young people are not short of ability. They are short of an entry point," the party said. "A compact makes the commitment public, and public commitments can be measured."
UAT said it would table the proposal for debate and invited other parties, employer associations and student bodies to contribute to the drafting.
Issued by the UAT National Office, Maseru.