A past meeting organized by the National Youth Union | Credit | Facebook

Youth employment will be top priority of Ministry of Public Service and Human Resource Development, the newly-appointed minister, Joseph Bakasoro, has said.

An assessment conducted by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO in 2018, showed that majority of youth in South Sudan are jobless.

Reports also suggest that the youth – who are under the age of 29 – make up 70 percent of the country’s population.

And according to the UN agency’s Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children survey, 95 percent of the secondary school level students are also young people.

However, UNESCO said due to the atmosphere of conflict and political and economic instability, the young people lack employment opportunity.

“This is something we have to look at seriously and address them,” Bakasoro said after taking oath in Juba on Monday.

According to the 2019 South Sudan State of Adolescents and Youth Report released last year, ninety percent of the youths do not have formal employment due to lack of a vibrant private sector opportunities in agriculture, tourism and natural resources.

The report also indicated that 94 percent of young people join the labor force with less than a primary education.

“If we study and get to know from the technocrats, then we will be able to tell you, I’ll do differently. I’m hoping that changes must take place,” he added.