YETI job hub in the offing

Kathmandu, Nov. 27

The government is creating an employment information management system for job information and job creation in the country.


The proposed information infrastructure called Employment Management Information System will generate and collect country-wide employment information and opportunities as well as in other countries around the globe.


It will be created under Youth Employment Transformation Initiative (YETI) ,a project recently launched by the government, for effective and efficient management and monitoring of services provided by the project and Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP), management of data on job seekers and job-related opportunities, and evidence-based employment policy formulation.


"The new platform will create a connection with the employment information system of other countries so that the international job opportunities will be available at the local level," said Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) Dr. Rajan Khanal.

It will be a network of job information portals.


He said that the government was creating information management infrastructure at all the local levels with the support from the World Bank (WB).


The WB has extended its support of Rs. 13.75 billion (USD 120 million) in concessional loan to create the employment information system. Dr. Khanal and WB Country Manager to Nepal Faris H. Hadad-Zervos signed the loan agreement on Wednesday at the MoF.


The support is given to YETI which aims to strengthen the systems and services for employability, including programmes such as PMEP.


Yeti will support the 753 Employment Service Centres (ECSs) at the local level to increase access to employment opportunities by providing employment promotion and employment support services for the registered job seekers.


The five-year long project that will be implemented by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) aims at benefitting 100,000 young people specially women.


"Human capital development and creation of jobs within the country for young people, especially women are a top priority of the government," said Dr. Khanal. "It is a win-win situation as it will help develop an infrastructure at the local level while creating employment opportunities for the people there. There will be income generation opportunities for the deprived people," he added.


The project will create temporary employment opportunities in the infrastructure projects and provision of services to engage up to 35,000 vulnerable individuals yield about 3.5 million work-days annually.


"Temporary employment opportunities will be complemented by on-the-job and life skills trainings of up to 50 days per individual to improve the employability of young people in the long run and ensure sustainability," said Hadad-Zervos. To achieve this goal, the PMEP guidelines are being updated by the MoLESS and MoF.


According to him, the project will also support capacity building initiatives to facilitate effective service delivery and coordination in the new federal structure while creating synergies with the private sector and existing projects to promote employment and employment-related services.

Hadad-Zervos stated that the WB always supported the government in institution building.


Meanwhile, the multilateral donor has provided additional financing of Rs. 2.74 billion (USD 23.95 million) through the Global Partnership for Education grant to support Nepal's School Sector Development Programme (SSDP).


The programme is benefitting over 7 million students and over 180,000 teachers and early childhood education development facilitators in more than 30,000 community schools and ECED centres across the country, said the MoF.


The additional financing will maintain support for the government's SSDP to improve quality, equity and efficiency within the school education sector.



Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 28 November 2019.