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Queen calls for broad partnership to solve Arab youth employment crisis

AMMAN (JT) - Her Majesty Queen Rania on Sunday said that fulfilling the employment potential of Arab youths will require educational reforms, support for small businesses and private sector engagement.

Speaking in a plenary session on "Addressing the Employment Challenge" at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Economic Growth and Job Creation in the Arab World, Queen Rania noted that "partnering with academia, NGOs and the private sector could reposition the Arab world as a hub of creativity and innovation".

"We have within our people all the potential and power to change our fate," a WEF statement quoted her as saying.

Calling for an all-encompassing approach to developing education for employment for Arab youths, Her Majesty said: "That will take a quality education. It will take inspiring teachers and modern curricula that teach them the skills of an entrepreneur: critical thinking, team work, problem solving, initiative, communication and leadership. Because the skills of an entrepreneur are the skills of a 21st century worker."

Her Majesty also stressed the importance of providing opportunities for young entrepreneurs in the region.

"Do not underestimate the entrepreneurial spirit of our young people. In a recent Gallup poll, 15 per cent of young Arabs said they wanted to start a business in the next 12 months, compared to just 4 per cent of Americans and Europeans. We just have to set them in motion."

Noting that about a quarter of young Arabs are jobless, while unemployment is even higher among women, the Queen said this costs the region about $15 billion annually, cripples communities, hinders development and frustrates an entire generation.

Although many young Arabs possess a dynamic entrepreneurial spirit, the belief persists that traditional public sector jobs are the best route to stable, well-paid employment, the Queen noted.

"We have to re-engineer the expectations of our children, instil in them the belief that there are no limits to their aspirations," she said. Education must be reformed so that young people learn the skills required by the job market: problem-solving, teamwork, communication and entrepreneurship, she added.

She stressed that governments have a role in promoting entrepreneurship by eliminating red tape, while networks of investors must get involved in funding schools and start-ups and offering internships and apprenticeships, according to the statement.

"When we create one entrepreneur, they create three or four new jobs, sparking a chain reaction that seemingly does the impossible: create something out of nothing," Queen Rania said.

"We can all do more to encourage young people to take risks, to teach our children to see and foresee the next big opportunity, to nurture the next generation, to break assumptions and confound expectations," she added, calling on young people to start challenging the status quo.

"Create something out of nothing. In every child lies the aspirations of a nation," said the Queen.

The Queen praised organisations supporting young entrepreneurs, such as INJAZ Al Arab, Jordan's Oasis 500 and Egypt's Plug and Play, the statement said.

The panel, which tackled several issues including education for employment, redesigning labour markets and the role of major employers and the private sector, was chaired by CNN anchor John K. Defterios, and included Sharan Burrow, general secretary, International Trade Union Confederation; Habib Haddad, CEO, Wamda, UAE; Soraya Salti, senior vice president, Middle East and North Africa, INJAZ Al Arab - JA Worldwide; Nemat Shafik, deputy managing director, International Monetary Fund; and Khalid Alkhudair, chief operating officer for Markets, KPMG, Saudi Arabia.

Salti, a co-chair of the special meeting, said industry-specific training courses must be introduced and the private sector must come to the table with suggestions of skills that are needed and investment for organisations that train youths.

"This generation of Arab youth are so inspired and so capable. They've done the impossible politically; we need to empower them to do the impossible economically," the statement quoted her as saying.

Governments can play a role in enabling the formation of new businesses and removing red tape, but should not be relied on for financing, said Haddad, who is also a co-chair of the special meeting and a Young Global Leader. Private equity and micro-venture capital are the keys to supporting start-ups, he noted.

Meanwhile, Burrow warned against competition between the public and private sectors, noting that partnership between the two on infrastructure mega-projects could create many jobs.

She also called on companies to take on apprentices. "We must act now, not tomorrow... We need immediacy and scale," she said.

During the session, participants noted that at least 2.8 million Arab youth enter the labour market each year, while unemployment among this demographic stands at 25 per cent and at least 25 million jobs need to be created over the next decade just to keep employment at its current level.

They also highlighted that unemployment is a universal problem and not exclusive to Jordan or the region, noting that youth unemployment stands at 32 per cent in Greece, 28 per cent in Italy, 28 per cent in Portugal and 27.5 per cent in Ireland.

© Jordan Times 2011