Several youth organizations have launched a campaign to promote decent youth work in Nicaragua, where 7 out of 10 people from 18 to 30 years old work under informal conditions.

“The goal is to promote public policies about youth employment” and “training conditions and opportunities” for young people, said Amaru Ruiz, one of the organizers of the campaign “Empléate Nicaragua”.

The initiative is being promoted by the National Commission of Youth of Local Network, which gathers 20 organizations and non-government movements of 13 cities in the country.

Nicaragua has an economically active population of 2.9 million people. Half of them (1.4 million) are young people aged from 18 to 30 years old.

The organization seeks to regulate the apprenticeships that university graduates develop in companies. Young people frequently agree to work with no schedules, nor payment, nor guarantees that they will be hired once the apprenticeship is over.

Lots of companies refuse to provide certificates when the apprenticeship is completed, which reduces opportunities for young people who look for a formal job.

“We cannot keep on blindly producing professionals who cannot find a job in the labour market and are forced to work in informal activities or move to other countries”, said Ruiz.

According to the International Organization of Labour (ILO), almost 8 million youngsters in Latin America are unemployed, while another 27 million work in informal conditions, with low wages, labour instability and no social protection.

In Nicaragua, most youngsters are hired for low wages (200 to 300 dollars).