MrSaidykhan was speaking on wednsday in Gunjur village during his visit to residential project and adventours journey participants of the President’s International Award
Addressing the gathering of 75 young people from SOS Senior Secondary School and PIA Skills Training Centre, Mr Saidykhannoted that for young people to effectively develop into responsible citizens, more trainings needed to be given to them.
He recognised efforts of the government for the conducive enviromment created for young people and called for more awareness of the opportunities available.
He also called on development partners to support youth developmentinitiatives in order to enhance empowerment of young people.
The award programme, he said, was opened to all young people in the age category of 14-24 years regardless of any background or orientation.
The programme promotes personal development and not competition amongst young people, he said, adding that it also enables young people to learn pratical and social skills that are valuable to their lives and career development, and provides worldwide recognition for their achievement.
As part of its efforts and restless strategies to enhancing skills and livelihood of young people, the PIA is currently providing one year training for 50 young people in hair dressing and tailirong free of charge.
This was made possible throught the UNDP/CPAP Project and the Minisrty of Youth and Sports.
The 50 young people are all residence of Kombo North in the West Coast Region.
The Award supports and prepares young people beyond education and training in the classroom into employment. Many employers are looking outside of academic achievements when recruiting potential employees.
He on behalf of young people sincerley expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Chief Patron of the Award, H.E. President Jammeh, forrecognizing their potentials and creating endless opportunities for youth development in The Gambia and the world at large.
He said their long-term vision is to provide the world’s 1.2 billion who are 14-24 years old with access to the Award.