Dear Editor,
Entrepreneurship as a career is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity. The conventional ways our youths seek employment are no longer adequate in the societies in which we live.
Let me first of all applaud the current administration on the initial steps it has taken, especially acknowledging the plight of youth and the significant role enterprise development can have on reducing youth unemployment. What is further needed though is a sustainable holistic approach.
Youths face greater difficulties than adults in entering the labour market with unemployment rates anywhere between twice to four times as high as those of adults. The recent global financial crisis has made it even harder. With the broken job market, many will have trouble finding a first job. This phenomenon will no doubt have a lasting impact on youths at the start of their careers.
The scarcity of opportunities to make a decent living is the most critical problem they face.
Fortunately, all is not lost; the earlier today’s youths realize that their success for livelihoods literally does lie within themselves, and not on traditional employment sectors (government or private sector) to sustain them, the greater will be their advancement. However, this must be facilitated by an environment which can accept entrepreneurship as a viable career option too, and perhaps even a first choice.
The sooner influential players in our society can grasp this fact the sooner will come the beginning to the solution of youth unemployment. For too long we have pushed careers such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, to name a few, as the only viable options. This even extends to looking down on the man or woman in the marketplace as hustlers instead of recognizing them as entrepreneurs. This necessitates changes in the mindsets and actions of our policy-makers, so they support and promote entrepreneurship education programmes within our schools. Young men and women must consider non-traditional career paths, and must be equipped with the tools necessary to succeed.
Research has shown that the biggest obstacle to individuals starting their own business ventures is not finance but the knowledge of how to transform an idea into a successful venture.
Most aspiring entrepreneurs lack the ability to analyse opportunities, assess risk and put together a business plan in order to get their ventures started.
Several governments, as well as many non-governmental organizations in the region have implemented entrepreneurial initiatives that provide training, funding and start-up support to individuals to assist them in actualising entrepreneurial ambitions, but the foundation is missing from the school system.
In a broader sense, ‘entrepreneurship’, when treated as ‘enterprise’, helps young women and men develop new skills and experiences that can be applied to many other challenges in life. In the Oxford Thesaurus, ‘enterprise’ has the synonyms, “resourcefulness, initiative, drive, imagination, enthusiasm, zest, dash, ambition, energy, energy vitality, boldness, daring, audacity, courage, get up and go…” It is worth noting that these attributes are generally associated with youth. Entrepreneurship education is directed to students pursuing any field of study, and promoting the development of entrepreneurism towards actualizing their own ventures regardless of their career aspirations. In this regard the Guyana Entrepreneurial Youth Movement (GEYM) proposes to partner, develop and implement a youth in-school entrepreneurship education programme called ‘Catch Them Young’. Catch Them Young seeks to empower students by providing the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to achieve entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. It places emphasis on the individual’s acumen to realize opportunity, assess risk, and the display the competencies necessary to transform innovative ideas into viable, sustainable ventures on the school premises, including tertiary institutions
The Guyana Entrepreneurial Youth Movement sincerely believes that a safe space/environment within schools should be created where youths are given the opportunity to develop their skills and be guided on entrepreneurial education and development, including how to harness resources and take advantage of opportunities; create sustainable solutions to problems; take risks and participate in rewards.
Yours faithfully,
Daren Torrington
Executive Director Guyana
Entrepreneurial Youth Movement Inc
