Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof has stated the administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has created 18,000 jobs.
Speaking on the topic of providing entrepreneurial opportunities for the youth at the MDP Congress, Minister Mahloof highlighted that the previous administration created 17,000 jobs in its five-year term. He said the current administration is continuing to provide job and entrepreneurial opportunities and that a large number of young people have been trained and made job-ready under apprenticeship programmes.
Furthermore, Minister Mahloof cited the latest statistics and said the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen created 17,847 in its five-year term while the current administration created 18,634 jobs in the past four years and allowed the enrollment of 14,930 students in the free degree programme. He also said the youth ministry is training 1,500 individuals in 100 national apprenticeship programmes being conducted with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). He noted that 30 of the 49 young individuals that completed the programmes last year were given employment.
Additionally, Minister Mahloof said five seminars have been held in five islands for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to improve the operations of the regional civil societies and organisations and promote collaboration and cooperation. He said that 187 NGOs participated in the seminars and they were provided with technical and financial assistance.
Moreover, Minister Mahloof further said that the youth ministry has worked with other state institutions to conduct programmes to empower the youth, including the Haftha Res programme and life-skill programmes, which saw participation from 3,005 children and 1,200 young individuals respectively. He added that 7,000 individuals participated in career exploration and mental health programmes.
In conclusion, Minister Mahloof said that the past four years have seen the most government involvement in developing the sports sector and empowering youth. He assured that the government will continue its efforts at a rapid pace.