The Pacific could be gripped by civil unrest unless more is done to occupy the region's growing youth population warn academics.
RBZ reports fifty percent of Pacific island people are now under the age of 25, a phenomenon called the "youth bulge."
PhD candidate, Aidan Crany, said the youth bulge is an untapped resource for the Pacific that if disregarded could cause social instability.
He said skill gaps in Pacific economies are not being filled by local students who are not encouraged to become trades people.
"The problem there seems to be as much as anything, skilled trades," he said.
"They're not held in the same esteem within the community, youth unemployment is a huge problem throughout many parts of the Pacific and yet we have a lot of young people attending university and coming through with qualifications in the service sector."
Mr Crany said aged care employment opportunities could also exist for Pacific youth in donor countries like New Zealand and Australia.
PhD candidate Daniel Evans said 60 percent of people in the Solomons are under the age of 24 and the country risks social instability unless more is done to occupy the country's growing youth population.
He said the youth unemployment rate in Honiara could be as high as 75 percent.
"The risk at the moment is the youth population is growing so rapidly, it's becoming increasingly urban," he said.
"If these youth aren't occupied, if they feel as though they are marginal to the political process, they don't have a voice, then you really do have the ingredients for instability in the future particularly in Honiara."
Mr Evans said the Solomon's government needs to develop a coherent approach to the youth bulge.