This paper assesses the reliability and validity of cognitive and socioemotional skills measures and investigates the correlation between schooling, skills acquisition, and labor earnings. The primary data from Pakistan incorporates two innovations related to measurement and sampling. On measurement, the paper develops and implements a battery of instruments intended to capture cognitive and socioemotional skills among young adults. On sampling, the paper uses a panel that follows respondents from their original rural locations in 2003 to their residences in 2018, a period over which 38 percent of the respondents left their native villages. In terms of their validity and reliability, our skills measures compare favorably to previous measurement attempts in low- and middle-income countries. The following are documented in the data: (a) more years of schooling are correlated with higher cognitive and socioemotional skills; (b) labor earnings are correlated with cognitive and socioemotional skills as well as years of schooling; and (c) the earnings-skills correlations depend on respondents’ migration status. The magnitudes of the correlations between schooling and skills on the one hand and earnings and skills on the other are consistent with a widespread concern that such skills are underproduced in the schooling system.

Jobs entry conditions are tough for disadvantaged youth in a tight labor market. South African employers prefer to hire employees who have at least completed a secondary school education and one year of work experience. Yet, over 47 percent of South Africa’s unemployed youth have education levels below secondary (termed “Matric” in South Africa) level education and most youth have not held a job. However, growing evidence globally and in South Africa demonstrates that 21st century skills – non-technical skills which include executive function skills and socioemotional skills – rival technical skills in their ability to positively impact employment and earnings, and may be the single most important predictor of a new employee’s success, providing a new entry point for disadvantaged youth.

This research provides valuable insights about the South African labor market, through the identification of future employment pathways with greater earning potential based on the tasks and skill-sets young people develop in their current occupation.

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.

This note focuses on the linguistic challenges many faces as they try to acclimate to life abroad when their native language is no longer dominant in their surroundings. From designing curricula around the needs of families to recognizing and accounting for dialects when sharing resources or providing services, this note takes an in-depth look at how to use #2GenImm approaches to help families overcome the language barrier.

This study maps the state of skill development of indigenous children, youth and adults throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It identifies the main challenges to skills development among LACs indigenous peoples at the five life stages infancy/early childhood, childhood and preadolescence, adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. It summarizes evidence-based policies and programs that address access and achievement gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous children, youth, and adults gasp that affect the development of lifelong skills and participation in the labor market. Based on the analysis, we highlight lessons learned and recommend lines of action.

It is widely accepted that schools and other settings catering to youth can play an essential role in offering education in life skills and character. However, there exists a broad array of potential targets for such programs, suggesting the need for guidance on which targets are most likely to result in demonstrable and valuable results. This report attempts to integrate a broad literature addressing the universe of targets for skills development programs for youth. After identifying a set of 30 candidate skills to investigate further, research literature was reviewed to evaluate each skill on three dimensions. Measurability had to do with the extent to which adequate measurement tools were available for evaluating skill level, with emphasis on those tools specifically used for younger populations and available in multiple languages, particularly in Spanish. Malleability had to do with the extent to which there is evidence that interventions have the potential to modify skill level, with emphasis on those that have been extensively evaluated through randomized controlled trials. Finally, meaningfulness had to do with the extent to which evidence exists demonstrating that the higher levels of skill can result in consequential outcomes. Based on these criteria, 10 skills were selected for further review as having the most compelling evidence to date that they are life skills that matter: Mindfulness, Empathy and compassion, Self-efficacy/ Self-determination, Problem solving, Critical thinking, Goal orientation and goal completion, Resilience/Stress resistance, Self-awareness, Purposefulness, and Self-regulation/Self-control/Emotion regulation. The evidence for each is summarized. We finish with a review of key issues to consider in the design, implementation, and evaluation of life skills that matter.

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.

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 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.

These guidelines provide information, guidance and tips on organizing and managing virtual internships. They focus on those aspects of an internship that are particularly important for internships conducted entirely virtually, and these where all activities and interactions are performed remotely.

This study explores how the centres of vocational excellence (CoVEs) implement their autonomous role in public-private partnerships (PPPs), and the specific features and benefits of CoVEs’ collaborations in PPPs for vocational education and skills development. Drawing on selected case studies in six ETF partner countries (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey) and two EU Member States (Finland and the Netherlands), the study provides insights into CoVE developmental processes and practices in PPPs and shows emerging trends that can inform vocational education policy development more widely.

In partnership with IBM, the OECD recently conducted a social media poll, asking young people how well prepared they feel about joining the world of work, how confident they are about their future paths, and what concerns them about education and jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, the OECD and IBM discuss insights from the poll and why career guidance and real-world work experiences are more important for young people than ever.

This note illustrates how AI can support post-secondary learning across the entire tertiary and vocational education sector in emerging markets.

EY Ripples and JA Worldwide teams surveyed nearly 6,000 Gen Z youth and found they are ready to reframe how business and education operate. This report presents the survey results, which yielded an understanding of a generation that is largely optimistic about 2030 and is ready to get started with gaining work experience so that they can tackle global challenges.

This research considers how various countries around the world are meeting the challenge of ensuring decent work for interns, and what more needs to be done to realize that objective, including the possible development of a new international labor standard on this issue.

This publication explores and examines the timely and accurate identification of NQCs, their integration into appealing and flexible curricula, and their effective implementation through new teaching and learning methods as well as relevant teacher and trainer training.

This report highlights the importance of emotional resilience to cope with the rapidly changing nature of work. The report highlights six strategies to cultivate emotional resilience among youth: (i) using a hybrid approach to enhance both coping and thriving abilities in schools; (ii) restoring refugees’ self-agency & ‘making meaning’ mindset; (iii) incorporating resilience-building strategies in traditional interventions that support entrepreneurs; (iv) adopting low cost, self-directed, digital interventions to support youth at scale in difficult times; (v) adopting mindfulness to release stress and increase self-awareness when engaged in fast learning and high-pressure environments; and (vi) designing work readiness training journeys that integrate both technical and socio-emotional skills.