Hard work: youth employment programming in Honiara, Solomon Islands

Introduction Across the Pacific, youth unemployment is regarded by governments, donors and citizens as one of the region’s key concerns, not only because of its effect on economic advancement, but also because of a perceived association between joblessness and insecurity, including the prospect of youth-driven crime and violence. Over the last two decades, increased scholarly attention has been paid to the link between youth unemployment and issues of social instability, most famously heralded by Henrik Urdal and his ‘youth bulge’ theory (2004). While issues of causation can be difficult to assess, the Pacific, particularly Melanesia, has seen this narrative take place in tandem with, or because of, rapid urbanisation which has been characterised by a growing cohort of unemployed or underemployed, urban youth. This scenario has been particularly true for Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands. A common response of governments and donors worldwide to this situation has been the instigation of large-scale youth employment programs. These initiatives typically follow common modalities, their primary rationale being to assist the young unemployed find and/or undertake paid employment, both formal and informal. Yet despite the frequency of these programs, especially in post-conflict, fragile contexts, evidence of whether they actually help to reduce the ranks of the unemployed remains, at best, tentative. Similarly, results are mixed — but perhaps more promising — when it comes to assessing their impact on social stability. This Discussion Paper is principally concerned with two ongoing youth employment programs in Honiara: the World Bank–supported ‘Rapid Employment Project’ (REP) and the ‘Youth at Work’ (Y@W) Program implemented and managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community