Young people in Port Moresby pushed to breaking point as Papua New Guinea grapples with unemployment crisis

At the tail end of 2020, Bernard Kakori was full of optimism.

He had just graduated university with a degree in economics and was confident he had what was needed to enter the workforce in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby.

Two-and-a-half years and more than 100 applications later, he is still looking for work and only has three interviews to show for it.

"Looking for a job in Port Moresby I would say is a job in itself, every day for two years I've been doing it," Mr Kakori said.

Preparing for job interviews across the city is costing Mr Kakori "a lot in money" and the mounting pressure to find work has added tension at home. 

"My parents paid for my school and still support me and are spending a lot on me searching for a job," he said.

Disempowered, feeling 'like failures'

Mr Kakori is one of countless young people searching for work amid a youth unemployment problem gripping the country.

Papua New Guinea has been experiencing a "youth bulge" in recent years — when the number of young people exceeds all other age groups.

Around 58 per cent of the country's population is under the age of 25, which is "one of the highest proportions in the Pacific", according to the latest census data. 

By comparison, Australians under 24 years old represented just 30 per cent of the population in 2018. 

Mr Kakori said the unemployment situation had become so desperate, some of his friends had resorted to petty theft and even armed robbery to get by.

"They feel like there is no future for them," he said.

"They feel like failures and there's no hope for them.

He said many employers want up to five years of experience and competition for entry-level jobs is fierce.

He also believes nepotism is rife, with recruitment agencies and hiring managers giving "first priority to their family, relatives or people they know".

"So even though they might be qualified, they will still get a job because the recruiter knows the person," he said.

A recent study by Papua New Guinea's National Research Institute backs Mr Kakori's claims. 

Out of 318 respondents aged between 14 to 35 in Port Moresby, 68 per cent said they were  unemployed.

Researcher Julian Melpa said their reasons varied. 

"Some people said nepotism was one of the obstacles for finding work," she said.

A future in agriculture

Ms Melpa's report concluded that creating new jobs and limiting urban sprawl was the way to reduce unemployment.

But a lack of job opportunities outside the major centres pushed more people into the city, Ms Melpa said. 

Her report found building more factories and engaging youth in agriculture could be a solution to the problem, because "most of our people depend entirely on agriculture".

"If the government could implement a loan scheme to support [young people] with start-up capital to buy chemicals and equipment to start growing, that would allow them to generate an income," she said.

Lack of industry pathways

But business leaders believe the big issue lies in education.

Recruiter Natasha Austin said undergraduates lacked basic skills when entering the workplace.

"I openly tell them that the graduates they take in, you have to spend six months training them on basic things like answering a telephone, and email etiquette – these are things that aren't taught at uni," she said.

Ms Austin, who is also president of the Port Moresby Young Chamber of Commerce, believes the problem boils down to a "gap between the industry and institutions" which don't come together like they do in other countries through pathway programs. 

"Developed countries have students working on real life projects and work experience, whereas here we don't have those initiatives," she said. 

Despite all his assignments, Mr Kakori did not get any on-job experience at school, and he said it hurt him in interviews.

"There is a lot of theory like reading and writing and time spent in lectures and classrooms," he said.

"But we didn't have any time doing on-the-job training. I never had that opportunity, so that's a big issue."

He said all he can do is to keep on trying.