Unemployment for people under 30 has remained a problem despite almost $500 million spent to address this problem between 2010 and 2014.
In the logistics sector, there are an estimated 10,500 jobs that can't be filled due to a lack of qualified applicants.
"We must invest in education and improve learning methods and skills for the workplace," said Carlos Chuljak, president of the Panamanian Association of Freight Agencies.
According to a survey on productivity and training by the Human Resources Institutions of Panama, 60 percent of the employers in the country have difficulty finding skilled labor.
Business consultant René Quevedo said that the current education system is not generating graduates with the competencies and skills required by the production sector or providing the necessary tools to young people to earn a living in a dignified and sustainable way.
He said that 95 percent of the disadvantaged youths in the country are forced to enter the job market for which they are not prepared. They end up condemned to a life of informality and temporary labor.
Panama reflects the reality of Latin America, where only 42 percent of young people will reach higher education, about 8 million are unemployed and another 27 million are working in the informal economy, according to the International Labour Organization.
La Prensa