#YouthSkillsWork

Develop new skills by volunteering

In Senegal the main problem of youth is how to get a high-quality education that will allow them to get a decent job. The education system provide a curricula that is more oriented in fields related to teaching or working for the Government as an administrator. Now, the government recruits less and less while the private sector and civil society organizations recruits more and more.

The rise of private sector and the emergence of civil society organizations in Senegal combined with the development of Internet and social media have created new opportunities of employment for young people, but universities and high-schools have not yet adapted their curricula to these changes. Fortunately, young people -generation X- have an extraordinary capacity to learn by themselves and to develop new skills. For instance, when I joined Amnesty International Senegal as an Online communication intern (Oct-Dec 2011), I was expected to 1)Assist in managing and updating the NGO’s social media outreach tools; 2) and to Assist in conceptualizing, designing and implementing Social Media campaigns and events.

My education background in political science, did not prepare me to do such a work, but through my experience as volunteer for several organizations in online campaigns, I developed online communication skills and gained knowledge and experience with social media networks and tools. It is that volunteering experience that allows me to succeed in my internship duties and to be appointed as Online activist coordinator after the internship (January 2012- ). That is why I think that volunteering early is a great way to develop skills that are essentials for a decent job. Volunteering experience should be taken into consideration by recruiters who often focus on “relevant working experience”

To fix the mismatch between skills and the demands of the labor market, it is important that universities develop a strong partnership with private sector and civil society organizations that should be consulted in programs conception. This partnership will allow the universities to fit their programs to the needs of the main recruiters (civil society organizations and private sector) and it will also facilitate students to get internships through which they will develop skills and have a practical experience that can lead to employment.