It takes a village to raise a child. And when a child succeeds, the village celebrates. 

And so we have been celebrating successes with the daughters and sons of Samoa succeeding locally and all over the world in their chosen fields.

On the academic front, the educational institutions are churning out Samoan graduates by the bucketloads, year after year. All you have to do is follow the stories of graduation successes highlighted on the pages of your newspaper day after day.

As a people, as a nation, it’s heartwarming stuff. It makes us all proud. 

Our sons and daughters are exiting the hallowed halls of academia, armed with the necessary qualifications and skills to enter the job market for the first time, or to continue, for others.

For some fresh graduates, they immediately find employment and are absorbed instantly into the workforce. They are supported, and facilitated, in their transition from school to the labour force. Good on them! 

But they are a minority.

The reality is that for most, the end of graduation would spell the start of what would prove to be a frustrating cycle of application after application to one role after another and trying to find that elusive ‘good fit’ or ‘perfect job’. 

For many, this would have to result in cutting their losses and taking up whatever can put food on the table for their families and getting ‘stuck’ in a job that may not necessarily bring them much else except for a pay cheque. They too are amongst a fortunate few.

The key question after every graduation remains: where will all these people find jobs? Are there enough jobs out there for these graduates? Will their academic achievements and the sacrifices made to obtain those be worth it and result in securing good employment to provide for their needs and that of their families? 

According to the Samoa Bureau of Statistics, Samoa Labour Force and Child Labour Survey 2022, the unemployment rate is around 5%, while youth unemployment is at 13.4%. 

While these figures on paper are generally good, it would be interested to break them down even further in terms of the definition of formal employment. Most people in Samoa would class themselves as self employed since everyone has the opportunity to plant vegetables and sell them in front of their house for an income.

The point is that there is always room for improvement.

We know that most of these graduates will find employment in the public sector. Some will be snapped up by the private sector, but the public sector will always prove more lucrative for many due to the benefits and job security it provides.

The private sector has long been lauded as the engine of economic growth for any economy. 

But in the current business climate, the sector in many ways faces an uphill battle in keeping its head above waters. Local businesses, especially the small ones, continuously have to fight to remain afloat amidst compliance fees, high cost of living and the general expenses of running a business in a small, remote country with a limited client base and resources. Others are struggling just to remain open. 

The recent power cuts certainly added to their already long list of financial and operational woes.

More needs to be done to make it more attractive to operate a business in Samoa, and to create an enabling economic environment that allows businesses to thrive. That way, they can hire more of these graduates, absorbing them into the private sector.

The overseas seasonal employment schemes offered by Australia and New Zealand are good avenues for the graduates to explore as well. This also opens them up for overseas exposure and opportunities. 

The key thing is that these graduates are provided with options to consider. That they can look forward to a secure next step, after their school journey, and not be saddled with the prospect of unemployment after all their hard work in getting that hard earned qualification. 

This should become a priority for our politicians and Parliamentarians of today. We know Parliament is reconvening this week amidst the ongoing political turmoil. 

Perhaps someone should remind the Prime Minister, the Opposition leader and whoever needs to hear this that they did not enter Parliament to put the country through the nonsense they have subjected our people to for far too long now. Their job is to create an enabling environment for Samoans to flourish. What do you think?