This brief takes a closer look at the relationship between trade, employment and poverty reduction. Rather than being comprehensive on all aspects, it aims to give an evidence-based overview of some circumstances under which trade can lead to employment generation and poverty reduction that is relevant to Sida and its partners.

This report presents the results of the UNESCO-UNEVOC trends mapping study on progress and challenges in TVET teacher and trainer digital skills development before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study’s findings – in terms of data, policy trends and identification of good practice examples – offer guidance to governments and TVET institutions that wish to improve teachers’/trainers’ acquisition of digital skills, as well as their capacities and propensities to apply digital tools, services and technologies to deliver quality, learner-centred education and training.

The report highlights the achievements of Better Work, a program by the ILO and IFC, tackles challenges in the garment industry. It aims for good working conditions and business growth together. They work in 12 countries, helping factories follow labor laws and improve competitiveness. Their methods include assessments, training, and encouraging communication between workers,employers, and governments. Better Work's research shows positive impacts on workers' lives, businesses, and garment industry as a whole.

This S4YE Knowledge Brief highlights different ways in which youth employment projects in S4YE’s community of practice, the Impact Portfolio, a network of 44 high-potential and innovative youth employment projects, are using digital tools for M&E strategies and data collection methods.

As Europe goes through its green and digital transformations, high-quality vocational education and training (VET) is key to ensuring people have the right skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow. The Council Recommendation on VET for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience, adopted in November 2020, sets out the EU’s comprehensive vision and strategic objectives for the future of VET. This brochure outlines this vision and the importance of VET reforms at national level, including key principles and actions to support these reforms.

This World Bank report incorporates youth aspirations and employment module of High-Frequency Phone Surveys (HFPS) into multi-topic household surveys to present the differences in education and career aspirations across Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Malawi. The data collected is nationally representative, and age distribution is similar across countries. Understanding the aspirations and goals of the youth is expected to lead to the development of effective employment policies.

This report explores how to maximize the economic value of skills in a dynamic job market. It emphasizes that a skill's worth depends heavily on how well it complements other skills, particularly those in high demand. The value of any skill is also relative to the worker's existing skillset, with the greatest value often arising from combining skills from different areas. Focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills, the report finds them especially valuable due to their strong complementarity and rising demand, boosting worker wages by an average of 21%. These findings can inform policies and practices for digital reskilling initiatives.

This paper presents evidence on how social protection and especially non-contributory cash transfers impact on individuals and households in low- and middle-income countries. The paper provides guidance on what policies, programming and interventions have been considered effective for Sida’s objective of creating better living conditions for people living in poverty and oppression.

To shed light on the opportunities and challenges facing women platform workers, as well as to better understand their financial profile and need for financial services, CGAP conducted primary research with women platform workers and sellers.

Millions of women are engaged in platform work around the world, both as workers and sellers. By better understanding women’s experiences on platforms, financial services providers (FSPs) and platforms can design solutions to help women maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of platform work. To shed light on the opportunities and challenges facing women platform workers, as well as to better understand their financial profile and need for financial services, CGAP conducted primary research with women platform workers and sellers.

This report provides an overview of the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. It presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they progress through their lives and careers: Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. Finally, the report identifies the barriers to women’s economic participation and encourages the reform of discriminatory laws.

The World Cities Culture Report 2022 is a unique research project, building on the ground-breaking 2015 and 2018 Reports and created with 40 partner cities, across six continents, over two years. Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis, we gathered leaders working  in the urban realm to discuss the biggest challenges and opportunities facing our cities. Over eight months, we invited every city in the World Cities Culture Forum network to nominate leaders to speak with us about the specific challenges of their city, how they were meeting the needs of their communities and what more was needed. We interviewed 40 City Leaders – from artists to Youth Council members, cultural advisors to museum directors, community leaders to 24 hour Commissioners. We then worked with our partner cities to gather their case studies,  profiles and over 70 data indicators. Where possible, we looked at 2019  and 2021 data sets to help us build a picture of the short-term impacts  of Covid-19, as well as the wider story of culture in our cities.

This research reveals that 77 percent of young people in Asia Pacific aspire to get a green job within the next 10 years. For companies operating in Asia Pacific, this presents a huge opportunity to move rapidly toward their environmentally sustainable business outcomes. The challenge, however, is they need to start acting now to design the jobs that will attract motivated young people of a variety of skill levels.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are major breakthrough technologies that are transforming the economy and society. The OECD’s Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Skills (AIFS) project is developing a programme to assess the capabilities of AI and robotics, and their impact on education and work. This volume reports on the first step of the project: identifying which capabilities to assess and which tests to use in the assessment. It builds on an online expert workshop that explored this question from the perspectives of both psychology and computer science. The volume consists of expert contributions that review skills taxonomies and tests in different domains of psychology, and efforts in computer science to assess AI and robotics.

This document presents the Retirement Savings Laboratorys (Laboratory) main findings, lessons, and challenges from several pilot interventions aimed at promoting voluntary pension savings among independent and low-income workers in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

This Knowledge Brief highlights examples of music enterprises in Africa and the types of opportunities they offer for youth in the broad music ecosystem.  The Brief also suggests some strategies for translating music into economic and social benefits: 1) Access to finance to support music enterprises, 2) Targeted music-friendly policies, 3) Support for networks and enabling infrastructure, 4) Enhanced participation of women and artists from marginalized communities, and 5) Human capital development through skills, training, and innovation.

This ILO report seeks to enhance our understanding of how digital labour platforms are transforming the world of work, and the implications of that transformation for employers and workers. 

This paper examines the vital, yet under-recognized role of waste pickers in the circular economy, particularly in low- and middle-income nations. It explores the tension between the environmental and social aspects of circularity. While waste pickers significantly contribute to recycling and environmental well-being, they often face exploitation and minimal support. The paper proposes a two-pronged approach: a hierarchy illustrating waste pickers' foundational role in the recycling chain, and a model for a socially restorative circular economy that prioritizes fair treatment and social inclusion for these essential workers. By addressing these social inequalities, the paper argues, we can achieve a more sustainable and equitable circular economy.

This paper focuses on key sectors across 21 emerging markets that can be prioritized in post-COVID green recovery efforts. These sectors are grouped around greening existing and future energy infrastructure, building climate-smart cities, and helping speed the transition of key industries to green production practices. Concerted actions by public and private players across these areas can deliver economic recovery in the short and medium term and can deliver long-term sustainable and low-carbon growth.

A rapidly urbanizing world presents enormous economic opportunities for the poor and vulnerable but also significant barriers to economic inclusion. This report provides an overview of the urban context and challenges, describes a framework for fostering urban economic inclusion, and examines the current landscape of economic inclusion programs, starting with the policy impetus driving their emergence.