KATHMANDU, Aug 24: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Ganesh Parajuli has urged the government to introduce a paid internship programme for talented youths across government agencies.
Speaking about the challenges faced by young graduates entering the job market, Parajuli said thousands of students completing their studies every year are losing employment opportunities because they lack prior work experience. He called for a long-term policy response to break what he described as a cycle in which young people cannot gain employment without experience, while they cannot gain experience without employment.
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Parajuli said Nepal’s younger generation is becoming increasingly skilled in modern fields but is being forced to seek opportunities abroad because they lack opportunities to apply their skills at home. He urged the government to “open the doors of Singha Durbar” to young people.
“Every year, thousands of students finish their studies and start looking for jobs. The first question they face is, ‘How much work experience do you have?’ You cannot get a job without experience, and you cannot gain experience without a job. This is where the painful cycle of unemployment begins,” he said.
He said the Labour Act has already created a legal avenue for trainees to learn while gaining work experience. He urged the government to introduce terms of reference (ToR) for youth internship programmes across ministries, departments and other government agencies through a dedicated policy.
“There should be no delay in preparing and immediately implementing a procedure under which a certain number of students are selected through open competition every year and provided with paid internships for a fixed period,” Parajuli said.
According to him, such a programme would provide young people with practical work experience, bring new knowledge and technology into government, and help produce a more competitive workforce for the employment market.
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