The initiative will expose young people to hand on the job experience for a period of three to six months and also ensure they understand the basis of internship and how it will widen their knowledge and experience.
The first batch of interns consists of 20 young people from various youth organisations and individual young people across the country.
Funded by the Peace building Fund through United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the initiative is intended to expand to various organisational levels to network and share experience among them so as to prepare for the greater task ahead for full employment.
Omar Bah, programme officer for Peace Security and Justice at the National Youth Council, said the internship project is meant to expose young people to gain experience and help in addressing the youth unemployment problem in The Gambia.
“NYC will pay the allowance of all the 20 interns in all the selected youth organisations for a period of three months. This can be extended depending on the duration of the project,” he said.
Pa Malick Ceesay, deputy executive director for the National Youth Council challenged the interns to be committed and be focused on the task in hand at their various organisations.
He said internship is all about learning about the job and gaining experiences, while urging them to be disciplined and respect the work they are assigned to do.
“As a council we will continue to collaborate with partners and build the capacity of young people and advocate for their involvement in the development of the country. We are committed to the development and empowerment of our young people. This is why we came with such an initiative to create employment opportunities for them,” he said.
Ousman Fatty, chairperson, National Youth Council, said Gambian young people are talented, adding that all they need is support and resources.
“This country cannot be developed without the involvement of young people thus investment into youth development is vital.
He added: “We hate to see young people roaming the streets unemployed forcing them into drugs”.
