Tuvalu Lost Generation

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“Lost generation -
A colloquial term for an unfulfilled generation coming to maturity during periods of economic and social downturn.’’ 1
The island nation of Tuvalu feels that this term adequately describes the situation for majority of
Youth aged 18-25, who represent almost 1 billion of the 7 billion people on the planet, the numbers of which birth rates in Asian and African countries are expected to push up in the next 25 years.2

With global youth unemployment rate at an all time high of 12.6% 5 , the future of the youth of the world looks bleak at the best. Youth Unemployment is currently one of the biggest problems in the EU. 5.7 million people under the age of 25 who live in the EU-member states were unemployed at the end of 2012. …show more content…

Education is often not adequately tailored to the needs of the labour market, and as a result there is a discrepancy between requirements and available skill sets. The situation is compounded with the inability of many economies to create sufficient jobs, thus increasing the educated unemployed.
Most youth in the outer islands of Tuvalu have little opportunity for employment outside agriculture unless they migrate to Funafuti (the capital ) where they face strong competition in the job market. Sometimes, a few lucky ones obtain admission to the Tuvalu Marine Training Institute , but the choices for the rest are restricted indeed. These limitations of creating potential job opportunities for its youth pose a big challenge to the republic of Tuvalu.
Internationally, the issue of Youth unemployment is best approached regionally first, as the different cultural and economic conditions tantamount to different root causes of the unemployment and hence a principal solution adaptable to regional needs must be agreed upon.

The key problems that the general policy of every nation must address are as …show more content…

Tuvalu has initiated many policies and programs to combat these shortcomings to the best of its abilities :
Regular Census and population surveys to actualize the extent of the problem.
Increased investments in Island Council ( Falekaupule ) in order to develop realistic development project plans for outer islands.
Providing basic business training to all levels of community in order to increase financial awareness.
Also, the Draft Tuvalu National Youth Policy (2012-2016) aims to build on “personal, physical, social, economic, mental and spiritual potential of young people”. This document highlights the need for synchrony among the government, NGOs, private sector and the community in order to resolve issues related to youth welfare . Being a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Tuvalu is a part of The Commonwealth Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE) 2006-2015, whose agenda includes youth empowerment, participation, and gender

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