Government Building Integrated ‘Youth Ecosystem’ Linking Education, Skills, Jobs and Entrepreneurship: Minister Yadav

Dragon Media Correspondent

Minister for Youth, Labour and Employment Ramji Yadav has said the government is building an integrated “youth ecosystem” designed to connect young people with education, skills development, employment, entrepreneurship, investment and national development.

Addressing the main International Youth Day ceremony in Kathmandu on Wednesday, Minister Yadav said the system is being developed by linking the National Youth Council, employment, skills and entrepreneurship service centers in all 753 local levels, and the Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund, among other mechanisms.

He said one of the government’s priorities is to connect the skills, capabilities and creativity of young people directly with the process of nation-building.

Emphasizing that young people are not only the future of the country but also an important force in the present, Yadav said they should be placed at the forefront of decision-making, leadership and national development.

According to the minister, the proposed National Youth Act includes a new provision requiring the vice-chairperson of the National Youth Council to be under 35 years of age. He presented the proposal as an effort to strengthen institutional space for youth leadership.

Yadav also pledged to end the situation in which young people are forced to move from one government office to another in search of opportunities, skills training, employment support or entrepreneurship-related services.

He said the integrated system is intended to make youth-related services, opportunities and programs more accessible while connecting education, skills development, employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship within a single coordinated framework.