Story By: Stephen R. Johnson ( excerpt from my research work, 2009)
Photo on Flickr by gbaku

Liberia’s youth face many challenges in gaining an education that delivers them the right set of skills and knowledge to become productive in today’s labor market. As a result, the transition from school to work is more often than not unsuccessful and youth end up either unemployed or underemployed in the rural, suburban and urban informal sectors. To address these different phenomenon, I have researched the importance of human capital in the labor market integration process before turning to the current situation faced by Liberian youth. Based on these and many significant contributions, I recommend policies highlighting the responses national Government and policymakers need to take in order to address these many problems. In the situation where youth are unable to make the much needed transition to the workforce after completing either academic or vocational training, the government must ensure an active labor market initiative, which targets the youth with the requisite training and other measures that would adequately prepare them for job readiness. Ignoring these issues will only result in a sharp decrease in economic growth, plus its indirectly related outcomes such as violence, conflict, mass illiteracy and poor healthcare. Developing a robust educational and employment program, which creates opportunity for Liberian youth must now become a significant priority of the government of Liberia.