National University Student Training and Internship Program (NUSTIP) is an innovative non-profit organization working to alleviate poverty by bridging the unemployment rate and addressing the diverse job skills training and internship program issues face by affected and underprivileged universities students and graduates who currently receive little or no benefit from job skills training and inte
rnship program. Because of the disruption in Liberia caused by years of conflict, the Liberian workforce is equally impaired. The 15- year’s education gap experienced by most Liberian youth has created a significant death of unemployment for career and skills workers. Universities programs are not sustainable if there are no job skills training, internship program and employment opportunities for University students and graduates. As a result, most NGOs, Companies, foreign-Owned businesses and other institutions regularly employ foreign workers. Due to the deficiency in job skills training and internship program at some universities in Liberia, especially University of Liberia (UL), potential students or graduates that lack these skills, have been denied by private and public sectors which have created numerous social and economic problems in Liberia. According to the PRS final report, which shows that about 45% of the total populations in Liberia, most are unemployed youth, and some are graduates from various universities, simply because they lack career/work readiness skills and productiveness. Against this, NUSTIP stands in the gap to provide the need to create enable environment that promotes the productive use of the skills available. Large and medium NGOs, companies, private businesses operating in Liberia, particularly in Montserrado and it environ, have the capacity to absorb large numbers of these youth; however, many large private - sector enterprises are reluctant to employ potentially volatile youth, unlike an NGO or the public sector, a profit – oriented enterprise usually fear the time and expense to train potentially problematic youth. Against the above background, University of Liberia (UL) students through National University Student Training and Internship Program (NUSTIP) have designed a project to address those barriers in order to engage private – sectors as partners to provide internship opportunities for 300 unemployed University students (junior & senior) and graduates from various career backgrounds as a conduit toward sustainable employment. This project will be implemented as pilot by National University Student Training and Internship program (NUSTIP), a local NGO with a strong background in career skills training, business and workforce development.
