ILO hosts conference on Innovations for Decent Jobs for Youth

Article | 15 May 2018
Geneva - Tackling the issues of low quality jobs among young women and men and high youth unemployment rates, which are nearly three times higher than the adult unemployment rate, was the focus of a two-day conference on Innovations for Decent Jobs for Youth held on 2-3 May. Organized under the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth to scale up action and impact on youth employment in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the event brought together a diverse group of partners to stimulate innovative thinking, exchange ideas and good practices and facilitate collaboration to collectively address a phenomenon that affects some 66 million young people globally.

Participants identified technology and demographics as key drivers influencing the future of work for youth. While technological advancements create many opportunities for young people, they also require that youth acquire new skills and many conference participants cited the need for greater employer engagement in education and skills development. Demographics also affect the supply and demand of young workers, as many countries have a large youth population without decent jobs, or are struggling to find young people to replace an ageing workforce. Participants agreed that finding solutions to this challenge will define the youth employment discourse over the longer term.

The conference also discussed innovative actions and financing for youth employment. During the first day, participants, including representatives of governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, international organizations, NGOs, and social entrepreneurs, aimed to define the future of youth employment, establish priorities for action and share good practices. Many highlighted the role of the latest available technologies in providing education and training, identifying skills needs, recognizing the competencies of young people, matching young people to jobs, and protecting vulnerable youth. Ranging from local solutions to global collaborations, the event provided a stage to present the work, find partners and gain publicity and support among stakeholders. Day one of the conference also served to unveil the new ILO Guide on Measuring Decent Jobs for Youth: Monitoring, evaluation and learning in labour market programmes. This guide aims to equip ILO constituents and stakeholders with a full set of concepts and tools needed to make informed decisions about how to best measure and evaluate the results of youth employment programmes.

Day two of the conference provided participants with a platform for rethinking financing for youth employment and finding new innovative approaches in the financial sector that can contribute to youth employment. Funding of education and job opportunities for youth was recognized as a solid investment by public and private actors. Participants also discussed private investment, crowdfunding, grants, social impact bonds, among others, as new ways to attract capital for youth employment programmes and skills training. The conference also provided a space for dialogue on new financial products and industry innovations that require extensive collaboration between the private sector, local communities, foundations and others.

The conference concluded with a discussion on a strategy for the next steps to boost youth employment action and impact through the Decent Jobs for Youth Initiative.