Naalakkersuisut looks very seriously at the development of young people’s attachment to education and employment, states Naalakkersuisoq for Education, Nivi Olsen, to Sermitsiaq.
Several years of effort to get a larger proportion of young people in education after finishing primary school has not paid off, shows the latest report on young people in education or employment from 2024.
Statistics Greenland states the following:
- The proportion of young people who were neither active in education nor in employment amounted to 31 per cent. in 2024. The share has fallen by 1 percentage point since 2016.
- In the same period, the proportion of young people in employment has increased by 2 percentage points, while young people in education have fallen by 2 percentage points.
Naalaakkersuisoq for Education, Nivi Olsen, denies that politicians have slept in class and not done enough.
Complex challenge
– The figures from Statistics Greenland are actively used as a basis for political action. They show that this is a complex challenge that requires persistent and long-term action. At the same time, the figures show a development that moves gradually. Therefore, it does not give a fair picture to claim that there is no trade in the area, says Nivi Olsen to Sermitsiaq.
She points out that one of the main focus areas in the education strategy for the years 2024 to 2030 is precisely the effort to ensure that more young people continue their education after primary school.
– The youth area has had a high political priority for several years, and targeted work is being done to strengthen young people’s opportunities through better guidance, the establishment of more flexible and practice-oriented education paths, as well as a closer interaction between education and the labor market, says Nivi Olsen and adds:
Strengthen the primary school
– Therefore, there is a continued focus on strengthening the quality in primary schools, facilitating the transition to secondary education and ensuring educational offers that are perceived to a greater extent as relevant and realistic for young people.
Nivi Olsen explains that this is a composite group, and “the solutions must therefore be differentiated”. In this connection, she refers to initiatives that include “the recently launched campaign to focus on vocational training and more places for apprentices and trainees”.
Not unequivocally negative
– The path to education is not the same for all young people. It is therefore not unequivocally negative that more young people are in employment.
For some, early attachment to the labor market can contribute to clarification and motivation, as well as being a step towards later education, emphasizes Nivi Olsen and states that Naalakkersuisut continues to prioritize the work of strengthening young people’s opportunities very highly.
