Urgent investment in human capital is needed to create a fairer world> 1.1 billion jobs are liable to be radically transformed by technology in the next decade. The Reskilling Revolution will position education at the core of the economic recovery by updating teaching and education systems to effectively prepare today's students for tomorrow's economy and society. This work aims to benefit 150 million students and young learners by 2024.
This Short Note is part of a series based on the report Working without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work that aims to promote discussion among policy makers and practitioners on opportunities in online gig work. Gig workers, including self-employed individuals, often find themselves in a "missing middle" when it comes to social insurance coverage. With a focus on developing countries, this note answers the question, “how can policy makers leverage online gig platforms to extend social insurance to informal gig workers?”.
This report estimates the size of the South African care economy through an analysis of the number of existing and potential future job opportunities in the sector. It also outlines the potential impact of investment into the care economy including economic impact, impact on beneficiaries, and impact on the young people who could access the job opportunities together with the broader societal impacts.
This Note explores the potential of jobtech platforms to address youth unemployment in South Africa. Harambee is a non-profit organization focused on youth employment solutions. Jobtech refers to technology platforms that connect job seekers with employers or facilitate freelance work.
This report is a product of a two-year engagement between the World Bank team and Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB). It aims to overview the Ejo Heza scheme, a local term that translates to ‘a better future,’ not only holds the promise of income security at older ages but can also be a much-needed source for domestic resource mobilization in the country. The report highlight its key strengths, and provide recommendations to improve coverage, adequacy, operational efficiency, and long-run viability.
New technologies, including the recent progress in Artificial Intelligence (AI), are transforming work and jobs worldwide. Climate change is also having an impact on the job market. To thrive in today’s world, young people need a full range of skills and knowledge to work, be active citizens, and live in the 21st century. This blog post explores how UNICEF is supporting young people with the skills they need to succeed in school, work and life.
Leveraging the ILO’s microdata, an analysis of global labour market and occupational trends highlights strategies to strengthen skills development and boost the competitiveness, agility, and resilience of youth.
This Knowledge Brief shares lessons on how the World Bank’s Promoting Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Social Protection and Employment Programs project team in Haiti worked to enhance the identification of persons with disabilities and provide them with skills for service sector jobs. The Brief highlights the importance of focusing on demand-driven skills, working with mainstream training providers, and proactive outreach to employers.
This knowledge brief highlights the relevance and challenges of business incubation services for youth in rural areas. It showcases learnings from several projects implemented by the World Bank and GIZ and provides examples of design elements of business incubation services for youth in rural areas. These include 1) creating a network-based ecosystem for rural incubation, 2) promoting on-site incubation as opposed to co-working space, 3) guaranteeing access to markets by involving the private sector, 4) Screening entrepreneurs, 5) combining different types of financial sustainability models based on local conditions, and 6) promotion of pro-women incubation to address the "triple burden" faced by young women in rural areas.
The objective of this report is to provide an understanding of the context, barriers, and practices related to approaches that increase employment and quality of employment among youth with disabilities, primarily in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This report largely draws on existing literature, activity reports, and consultations with practitioners and individuals with disabilities.
At the request of The European Commission EEA has produced EU country profiles that offer an updated view of circular economy policies being implemented at a national level with a particular focus on elements that go beyond EU mandatory elements, and best practice with a focus on policy innovation. While implementing the EU Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP 2020), Member States are encouraged to advance circularity at a national level by adopting policies and initiatives that go beyond EU regulations, while preserving the Single Market. These circular economy country profiles are based on information reported by the Eionet network and, in particular, the Eionet Group on Circular Economy and Resource Use in the second quarter of 2022. The information was reviewed and edited by the European Topic Centre on Circular economy and resource use (ETC CE).
The study draws on youth and employer survey results to document the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people in Jordan and Palestine, with an emphasis on vulnerable youth including refugees in Jordan, youth in Gaza, and young women. Key topics include:
- Youth employment trajectories during the pandemic
- Youth interest in virtual freelancing jobs
- Employer hiring projections and demand for skills
- Promising sectors for youth employment during the COVID-19 recovery
This report summarizes the key feedback the Canadian government heard from its people relating to Canada's Blue Economy Strategy and outlines how they will react to this information.
This study provides an overview of impact investment and skills creation in innovation, covering the main features of impact investment, the historical development of the phenomenon, and how it can be linked to the skills creation process. The study examines the emergence of impact investing and explains its principles and defining features. It maps some existing initiatives at European and local levels, presents examples of good and innovative practices in investments with social impact, and explores what practices and instruments for impact investment in innovation skills have been and/or could be applied in the Western Balkans.
The 2022 edition discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people and their labour market prospects during the recovery and beyond. Youth have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and youth labour markets are now being buffeted by the lingering impacts of the pandemic, geopolitical risks and macroeconomic risks such as the impact of supply chain disruptions and rising inflation, particularly that of food and energy. There is also the potential permanent damage wreaked by these crises on the fabric of labour markets. As countries seek to address these multiple challenges, they must also not lose sight of longer-term priorities. In particular, targeted investment in the green, blue (ocean), digital, creative and care economies hold great potential to provide decent jobs for young people while setting economies on path towards greater sustainability, inclusiveness and resilience.
This technical note provides support for applying a human rights-based approach (HRBA). The note begins with a short introduction to the HRBA and Sida’s PLANET tool. It then explains how human rights norms and standards underpin the thematic area. The note demonstrates how PLANET can guide staff in planning, assessing and monitoring a contribution through a series of guiding questions and examples. Finally, it provides a simple empowerment and capacity development analysis model and a list of additional resources to explore.
This World Bank report argues that the lack of market contestability in the MENA region makes it hard for new firms to start up and expand—so employment cannot grow fast enough to keep up with the growth of the working-age population. In addition, the report underlines the limited market dynamism and stunted job creation that continues to depress MENA's private sector. Finally, the report highlights the importance of understanding the policies and regulations hindering market contestability.
South Africa’s paid care economy contributes 13.8% towards total employment in the labour market and is largely undertaken by women – estimated at 84% in Graph 1 below.
Historically, the care economy has been a neglected sector, however, recent attention has been brought to it by South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa. This presents an opportunity to create momentum around expanding solutions for the care economy.
This report is structured to dive into each of the care economy sectors, starting with early childhood development, and then education, healthcare and domestic work. Each section will provide an overview of the sector, specify key operators, outline challenges and bottlenecks, and identify opportunities for targeted investment.
This report proposes a new approach to tackling plastic pollution. It focuses on empowering informal waste recovery systems (IWRS) and their workers. These workers, often overlooked, possess valuable skills and knowledge in waste collection. The report argues that current solutions often exclude them, harming their livelihoods and hindering waste management. Instead, it proposes using resources to support a smooth transition for these workers and their communities,essentially bringing them into the fold as key players in solving plastic pollution.
This S4YE Knowledge Brief presents emerging evidence of the scale of online gender-based violence in low- and middle-income countries and their impact on the participation of young women in digital sectors. It then outlines suggested policy responses and interventions.
