The main objective of this document is to provide guidance on how to apply a “Blue Economy lens” to Bank operations. To this end, it aims to: 1. Ensure that the World Bank’s operations around oceanic activities are developed with a view to improving the necessary integration between different economic sectors, both on land and at sea, and avoiding unnecessary impacts on ocean health. 2. Identify means to scale up Blue Economy activities, including through new sources of innovative blue finance. To achieve these goals, two related streams of work are identified: one focused on promoting an integrated approach to the sustainable development of oceanic sectors, and the other focused on increasing blue financing.

This Cedefop CrowdLearn study undertakes a comparative analysis of skill development and workplace learning practices among two major types of online platform work: online freelancing and microwork. It combines information on microworkers drawn from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform with the original CrowdLearn sample of online freelancers surveyed from three major online labour platforms (Fiverr, Upwork, PeoplePerHour). 

This white paper sets out reforms to further education, recognising that the UK economy is changing rapidly. The pandemic, Brexit, climate change, the expected growth of jobs requiring STEM education or training had collectively snowballed into a skills shortage in recent years – young people did not have the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed in the current and future economy.

This book talks about Africa's massive informal economy, the main source of jobs in the region, is expected to keep growing. Despite its established presence, challenges abound. Low productivity, limited resources, and vulnerability to shocks plague this sector. Informal workers, especially women, often lack access to social safety nets and financial tools. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed these vulnerabilities, prompting governments to utilize technology and innovation to deliver social protection programs and support economic recovery, particularly in urban areas. While these swift responses were successful, they were temporary measures. Long-term solutions are needed to address the inherent challenges of Africa's informal economy.

The report provides an overview of social protection instruments for different groups in informal economy and proposes innovative instruments to encourage the “missed middle” of social protection to save and build resilience to future shocks.

This brief explores how adopting circular models can create more job opportunities, especially in the services sector. The note shows that the shift to the circular economy has potential for job creation- activities like waste collection, recycling, repair, and remanufacturing are more labour-intensive and could be important segues to job creation. From a skills perspective, the adoption of circular approaches brings to light the importance of skilling, upskilling and digital skill acquisition. In addition, circular jobs will likely demand multidisciplinary and deep technical/industry skills.

This report investigates how Norwegian aid may contribute to reducing emissions while fighting poverty. Three areas where Norway already has a strong record are clean energy, energy transition, nature-based solutions, and sustainable food systems. In addition to these, three areas where there is potential for cooperation are green taxes, the circular economy and urbanization, and green urban development. 

This study examines applying the Circular Economy, focused on minimizing waste, to the complex coffee industry. A 7-month case study of a specialty coffee importer in Amsterdam revealed challenges like government policies and industry mindsets, but also highlighted the importance of shared vision, strong business models, and clear communication for success. The research suggests companies navigate identity concerns and misconceptions about CE through factual communication, emphasizing the interconnectedness of barriers and enablers for a strategic approach to a more sustainable coffee industry.

This report explores a “what if” scenario – what if the world took action to harness the full potential of DREs to end energy poverty, setting in motion a green power transition across the energy poor world? It combines qualitative case studies with predictive economic modelling to explore the job creation potential that would flow from a steep and rapid increase in investment in DREs across 63 energy-poor countries in Asia and Africa.

This is the first large-scale use of platform data in the region to inform the extent of women’s participation on e-commerce and how online platforms can benefit women business owners. Developed in partnership with the European Commission, with funding from the Umbrella Fund for Gender Equality and data from one of Africa’s largest platforms, Jumia, the report shows that closing earnings gaps between men and women on e-commerce platforms could add nearly $15 billion to the value of the African e-commerce market. Achieving such gains will require proactive efforts by e-commerce platforms, investors and policymakers, to not only increase the number of women selling online, but also support their growth, including entry into higher-value segments on e-commerce platforms.

This is the first large-scale use of platform data in the region to inform the extent of women’s participation on e-commerce and how online platforms can benefit women business owners. Developed in partnership with the European Commission, with funding from the Umbrella Fund for Gender Equality and data from one of the region’s largest platforms, Lazada, the report shows that closing earnings gaps between men and women on e-commerce platforms could add over $280 billion to the value of the regional e-commerce market. Achieving such gains will require proactive efforts by e-commerce platforms, investors and policymakers, to not only increase the number of women selling online, but also support their growth, including entry into higher-value segments on e-commerce platforms.

This study looks at markets across four key areas to provide a dual perspective from both youth and employers regarding sectoral opportunities and challenges, qualifying the skills gap, bridging the gap, and the impact of COVID-19 on the labor market.

This Guide aims to address the knowledge gap and strengthen young people’s knowledge and skills on climate change and how to engage in climate policy processes. It provides targeted content and activities that help learners turn their knowledge and skills into action for climate empowerment. The tools aim to support young people in accessing climate decision-making spaces and groups and to think critically about their own country’s mitigation and adaptation priorities through a rights-based lens.

This publication emphasizes the importance of youth involvement in transitioning to a circular economy. The document identifies ways young people can get involved, such as working for companies that encourage circularity, joining sustainability-focused youth groups, and advocating for change.

This case study provides evidence from Kenya to show that online freelancing has become an interesting sector, both in terms of its growth trajectory, and in terms of worker upward mobility in the global knowledge economy. As life everywhere moves further into the digital realm, and global internet connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world grows, more and more young Africans who stream onto the labour market may find work in the world of global online freelancing.

This document from the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform outlines a system for categorizing activities that contribute to a circular economy. The aim is to provide a foundation for efforts like defining the impacts of circular models or measuring risk reduction. The system focuses on two main areas: extending product lifespans through reuse, repair, refurbishment, etc., and optimizing product use through leasing and sharing models.

This Circular Economy Action Plan provides a future-oriented agenda for achieving a cleaner and more competitive Europe in co-creation with economic actors, consumers, citizens and civil society organisations. It aims at accelerating the transformational change required by the European Green Deal, while building on circular economy actions implemented since 2015.

This brief aims for a better understanding of the intersection between climate resilience and youth employment and where it may be stronger geographically, which is necessary to generate better policy and adaptation options for the future of agriculture and young people.

This manual has been created as a reference for digital entrepreneurs to demonstrate the impact of digital platforms and tools in alleviating the societal challenges resulting from COVID. 

This brief examines strategies the World Bank’s ‘Digital Jobs in Nigeria’ pilot project team adopted to help vulnerable youth in conflict-affected areas to leverage employment opportunities in the digital economy. The pilot provides training for unemployed and under-employed youth in Kaduna State to pursue digital jobs, including online freelancing and digital entrepreneurship. The brief specifically highlights the team’s responses to several challenges, including: managing security threats; navigating limited ICT infrastructure; building a local tech ecosystem; adapting to restrictive socio-cultural norms, and integrating local knowledge.