or decades, youth employment has been an issue in Sri Lanka, where they make up almost a quarter of the population of 21 million. According to the World Bank, only about 64% of Sri Lankans completed upper secondary level education in 2022. Nearly 25% of the youth population is also unemployed.
Saad Farook was one of these youth that needed to find employment but due to financial woes, he dropped out of his Information and Communication Technology (ICT) undergraduate program at a university in Sri Lanka. Without the proper skills he feared he would never find a job in his chosen field. But there was no time to despair.
His dream to excel in ICT became a reality thanks to his hard work and the luck of attending a job fair sponsored by USAID’s Youth Empowerment and Business Startup activity, YouLead.
At that job fair, Saad learned about online courses that helped people in his situation pursue successful ICT careers. He wasted no time registering and completed the courses as soon as he could, later securing a job in data science at a Sri Lankan company.
“Most youth are unaware of their potential skills and expertise that will make them a better match with an occupation or a profession of their choice,” says Saad. “There are many exciting training standards and assessments available, but youth are rarely aware of these that will positively impact on their decision about their futures.”
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