Welcome Address by
Mr S P Sharma Vice Chairman National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal

At the Special Plenary Session of 
"Thought Leadership Conference" Special Plenary
Date: 30 October 2003
Venue: Balayogi Hall, Parliament Library Building, Parliament House, New Delhi

Mr Chairman, Hon’ Chief Minister of Delhi who has just left, distinguished speakers, representatives of various organisations, young entrepreneurs, ladies and gentlemen. Throughout the earlier sessions all speakers have been confirming vital importance of creating productive decent job for the youth of our region for poverty reduction, social stability and national development. This is indeed an extremely timely summit in which we are able to share experiences to move forward together with the youth of our nation. Youth form the largest segment of the society faced with the depressing dilemma of unemployment and even when they are employed they often have precarious jobs which are poorly remunerative. The situation of young women and persons from socially disadvantaged groups is even more discouraging. Unemployment, underemployment and less productive employment can leave lasting marks on the leave of today and have serious effect on the national development.

I do not wish paint only a gloomy picture. Youth are a clear asset to our countries and with appropriate support and conducive and enabling environment young people can bring dynamism to our country’s economies and become great job creators of future. Multiple stakeholders have their role in making this happen and we together need to build effective partnership of support. We must keep in mind in policy and programmes development that jobs in formal economy have been stagnating. It will increasingly be in the informal economy where youth find a viable option to engage in a remunerative economic activity particularly in the self-employment and setting up of micro and small enterprises. However, we all know that prerequisite to ensure productive employment and entrepreneurship such as skills, technology, credit and market linkages. Many educated youths who have been in the educational system of our countries have little in terms of marketable skills and those who have had opportunities to attend vocational training institutions often do not acquire skills for self-employment. It is therefore essential to address shortcomings in the effective manner and to place the focus on the need to build skills for self-employment and entrepreneurship amongst young people through the transformation of curriculum and training methodologies in schools and training institutions. Measures must be taken to improve mechanism for making technology and resources not only available to youth but also geared to youth. Policies and regulatory framework should be youth friendly taking into account the specific needs of young women as well as being socially inclusive.

In my country, Nepal productive and decent employment is seen as central to property reduction strategy. We have placed job creation as a centre of our development agenda. Under our current tenth plan programmes are being designed for youth including young women, women and persons from disadvantaged groups who have otherwise not been able to break out of the poverty trap and who must be mainstream in the development. But we see them not only as target groups but more importantly as distinct partners in the poverty reduction process. In order to enhance and strengthen participatory and consultative process national Planning Commission with the help of ILO organised a series of consultation with stakeholders, employer organisations workers as well as government agencies throughout the country to finalise labour and employment strategies. The major strategies adopted in the current plan to achieve the objective of employment promotion are:

Initiation of timely reforms in labour laws to promote private investment, reorientation of public expenditure to make it more employment intensive, expansion of developmental activities in deprived areas and communities, private-public partnership in streamlining present training the programmes making them more demand driven and effective, encouraging foreign employment and elimination of worst form of child labour.

The strategies developed can be translated into action only if monitoring and implementation mechanism are made more effective. To address these weaknesses His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has started prioritisation of projects, allocate budgets to priority projects, publishing on the internet the detailed programmes with monitorable output indicators for all priority projects, fund release based on satisfactory implementation performance and regular reporting and monitoring, programmes and reform actions, annual evaluation of implementation of poverty reduction strategies. Various programmes for rural self-employment programmes have already been launched through micro credit, micro enterprises and rural infrastructure development programme.

Similarly a successful programme that was launched with the UNDP and the ILO has developed and implemented and innovative approach to stimulate job creation through micro and small enterprises in rural areas. These effective programme extended on a far rural basis to make a real dent countrywide.

Urban youth including educated, young people need to be specifically targeted to. Market information and other business development services are lacking for even for the most resourceful youth living in less deprived areas. There are vast opportunities to tap through the internet and young people should be guided on how to access these and provided with facilities. This could potentially make a big difference in youth seizing the right opportunity at the right time in this globalised world.

Who should be the stakeholders and who are the partners in the change process? What are the distinct responsibilities the each group can take on? We in government ensure that our policies are conducive to youth employment and ensure that an enabling environment exist in both young men and women friendly. We need to make it easier for young people to start up an enterprise and to keep it going. Public educational institutions from schools to training institutions to provide relevant schemes to children and trainees for their future entrance into the labour market. Policy makers and planers should ensure that youth employment is highlighted as a key to national development and that programmes are developed and adequate financial resources are invested to give you a real chance. Information is the key and youth often have no access to information about training, jobs and services. The private sector and communities have an important role to play in mentoring, in giving youth a voice and in assisting youth to channel their energies towards creating jobs and prosperity. Private sector educational and training institutions should be geared to help the young people to enter into the labour market to fulfil their aspirations. Employers’ organisations, NGOs, communities, and workers’ organisations, development agencies and donors should acknowledge tat the clear value of employing young people emphasise on this area in any work that they are undertaking that could be relevant. They should themselves give youth a chance by being open to hearing the views of young people by committing themselves to mentoring and employing them. Young people who migrate for employment should be given relevant skills before they depart and on return be provided entrepreneurship training and services to be able to set up a business and use their savings productively.

Young people in the organisations should see themselves as active participants in the development of policies and programmes and be welcomed as partners. They need to identify constraints they have faced and be given information to help articulate their needs in relation to training, credit, market access and areas of importance.

All these groups, government, business leaders, youth organisations, workers’ organisations and agencies should get together to bring about co-ordinated policy and action. We also gain much by hearing from various actors in other countries and so this summit is a clear opportunity for us to meet and hear the views and experiences of other countries. The Youth employment Network provides us with an excellent forum in which we exchange experiences on youth employment worldwide.

In conclusion I would emphasise that Nepal is one of the co-sponsors of the UN General Assembly resolution 57/165 on promoting youth employment. We therefore feel strongly about the importance of preparing a national review and action plan on youth employment and in including all relevant partnership in this process. As stated in the millennium declaration we are committed to develop and implement strategies that will give young people a real chance to find a decent and productive work. We expect to work closely with ILO and UN and other development partners to turn this statement into a reality for the 300,000 young people who enter the labour market each year in Nepal. As the vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission I can assure of my country’s commitment to tackle the serious employment programme faced by the youth of Nepal with the help of employers youth leaders, NGOs and workers representatives and various other interested agencies. We also intend to be active partners in the Youth Employment network.

I congratulate the organisers of this important summit for bringing such eminent personalities together to discuss youth employment and entrepreneurship to develop new partnership and to move forward together on an issue that concerns us all.

Thank you.

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