Despite substantial improvements inaccess to basic education and steady economic growth, TheGambia still faces considerable challenges in respect toreducing poverty. As the result of its narrow economic baseand its reduced internal market, the country will continueto rely heavily on the productivity of its citizens toreverse the cycle that keeps families in poverty generationafter generation. Poverty reduction is a complex equationthat involves improvements in job creation, especially forhigh-skilled and productive employment, as well asimprovements in human capital levels to ensure that citizensare able to take advantage of employment opportunities.Currently, however, low human capital levels greatly limitthe productivity and employment outcomes of the population,as evidenced by the fact that a majority continues to workin subsistence agriculture, especially in rural areas. TheSecond Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper II (2007-2015, PRSPII) recognizes the need to focus on improving youthemployment outcomes. It states that 'The Gambia has aproblem of youth unemployment especially those that havelimited skills. Consequently, a big proportion of the youthare part of the people categorized as poor in The Gambia.PRSP II will focus on the problem of youth unemploymentthrough various approaches including supporting privatesector investment that creates jobs for the youth,increasing access to productive assets particularly creditby the youth, and retooling and training the youth toincrease their employability.'
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