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SINGAPORE: Citi pledged on Friday (September 18) to offer 6,000 jobs over the next three years to Asia Pacific youth, in response to rising youth unemployment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bank will also offer 60,000 skills training opportunities during the same period to young people in its retail and institutional businesses in the region, it added in a press release.
The announcement comes as Citi Asia Pacific and the Citi Foundation committed to investing US $ 35 million in philanthropic investments to improve the employability of youth from low-income and underserved communities in the region by 2023.
“This initiative is designed to equip young people with the skills and confidence to enhance their employment and entrepreneurship opportunities,” the bank said.
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Citi Asia Pacific Chief Executive Officer Peter Babej warned that Asia Pacific communities face a potential “youth unemployment crisis” due to the impact of COVID-19.
“Young people are key to the recovery from COVID-19 in Asia Pacific and this investment will help them promote their economic opportunities and support inclusive growth in the region,” Babej said in the statement.
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Asia Pacific is home to more than half of the world’s young population, with 700 million people between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the International Labor Organization.
The demographic group represents 20 percent of workers in the region. Yet at the same time, they also account for half of the region’s unemployed.
“The pandemic and the resulting economic crisis have further challenged this problem,” Citi said.
“Projections through the end of 2020 in 13 countries show considerable jumps, with youth unemployment rates doubling the 2019 rate in some cases,” he added.
READ: Singapore staff cuts rise in the first half of the year, surpassing the peak of SARS
The bank’s hiring pledge comes amid growing staff cuts and unemployment in Singapore and several countries in the region, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit economies.
In Singapore, layoffs have skyrocketed along with the unemployment rate. In June, 89,700 residents were unemployed, up from 76,200 in March. Layoffs rose dramatically to 11,350 in the first half of the year, surpassing the 10,120 recorded during the SARS period.
Earlier this month, Singapore Airlines Group announced that it needed to cut around 4,300 positions across its three airlines. Several other companies have also recently announced job cuts, including Millennium Hotels and Resorts, ground handling company dnata, and Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Center.
In the region, around 6.4 million Indonesians have also lost their jobs due to the impact of COVID-19, while Vietnam estimates that around 31 million of its workers have been affected by the pandemic.
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