Hundreds of millions of young people in the Global South face uncertain futures due to poor access to quality education, inadequate skills, and limited employment opportunities. By 2033, the Global South will host 1.2 billion people ages 15 to 24. However, unless current trends are reversed, only 480 million will attend school, and 420 million will have jobs (often precarious ones), leaving 300 million inactive. Youth inactivity negatively impacts lifelong opportunities, earnings, mobility, and mental health. It also erodes productivity and human capital development, hinders economic growth, and may lead to antisocial behavior and social unrest. Programs and policies that support youth entry into the labor market fall into three categories: those enhancing employment opportunities, training programs to address skills gaps, and those facilitating youth integration into the workforce. Evidence shows that proper program design and implementation are crucial for success, emphasizing the need to tailor interventions to local contexts and youth profiles. The private sector role has a critical role to play beyond job creation. The private sector should be involved in policy decisions to ensure that programs address employers' needs. Its efforts should also complement the public sector in providing quality training and employment services. When wage employment opportunities are scarce, private self-employment and small-scale entrepreneurship initiatives should also become significant pathways for youth to access the labor market. Looking ahead, successful youth employment initiatives need to be brought to scale to unleash the potential of the next generation.
The infographic highlights the growing number of young people entering the workforce and the need for labor markets to adapt to accommodate them. It also emphasizes the disproportionate impact of poor labor market conditions on youth compared to adults, and the importance of addressing this issue to ensure a sustainable future for all.
The green economy is projected to generate 8.4 million jobs for young people by 2030, spanning industries such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management and eco-tourism. However, for many young people, particularly those from marginalized communities, the pathway to green jobs is fraught with barriers. This brief outlines seven approaches used by Save the Children’s Skills to Succeed program to tackle barriers to youth employment in the green economy and foster innovation to ensure that the most marginalized youth receive targeted support and access to green careers.
The Asante Africa Foundation's 2023 Impact Report, "Rural Youth Breaking Barriers," highlights the transformative power of education in East Africa. By providing quality education and fostering entrepreneurship and leadership, AAF's programs empowered over 24,000 youth in 2023, creating lasting change and brighter futures. They acknowledge the need for continued support in education, mentorship, and youth empowerment to build a stronger Africa.
This paper includes key recommendations for and considers the role of industry leaders, governments, education and training providers and civil society in closing the skills gap and championing VET for the circular economy.
Financial health for young entrepreneurs means that they are aware of and able to access appropriate resources required to start and grow their enterprises, can manage their business finances, and have confidence in their financial future. Youth Business International (YBI) and ten of its member organizations from Africa, Asia and Europe have developed an evidence-informed approach that can systematically improve how young entrepreneurs can be supported to access appropriate financial services and products.
This S4YE Knowledge Brief describes how The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation (the Foundation), an international charity and licensing body of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (the Award); a Non-Formal Education and Learning framework for young people aged 14-24 years old, uses the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework and has developed a social value methodology (SVM) to measure the impact that the Award has on its stakeholders, such as Award holders, adults who support Award delivery, and wider society. The Brief also shares useful recommendations for other youth organizations interested in measuring and enhancing their social value.
In this paper, Youth Business International (YBI) and Habitat in Türkiye shine a light on the potential of youth-led businesses that have outgrown microfinance and start-up support but are still considered too small or high-risk for mainstream investment. These businesses—often innovative and rooted in their communities—are overlooked despite their immense potential to create jobs, generate revenue, and drive sustainable economic growth. They fall into the “missing middle”. The policy paper outlines key strategies to de-risk youth entrepreneurship and enable youth-led businesses stuck in the “missing middle” to scale sustainably, including: designing tailored financial products such as uncollateralised loans and milestone-based funding; advocating for regulatory reforms and youth-friendly procurement; strengthening financial literacy and investment readiness; scaling structured mentoring models and peer learning initiatives; and supporting high-growth businesses in diverse sectors, including green, creative, and traditional industries
This Short Note is part of a series building on the report Working Without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work. This note aims to provide some practical tips for practitioners like World Bank task team leaders in implementing online gig work programs to enable vulnerable populations - such as youth, women, persons with disabilities - to access online gig jobs to support their social and economic inclusion. Governments can use the potential of online gig work to build human capital, develop the nation’s digital skills, and provide opportunities to supplement household income.
Program engaged young people in Nigeria, Mali, Somalia and Somaliland, with a mission to unlock their potential, build their confidence and equip them with the essential skills required for successful careers or entrepreneurial ventures. The program ran from 2016 to 2023 and was developed and executed with diverse local partners and a consortium of partners in the Netherlands, and funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This is an article about workforce development in global value chains. It discusses the skills needed to participate in the global economy. The article also details challenges faced by countries trying to educate their workforce to meet these demands.
This is a report about the Nestlé Needs YOUth Initiative. It discusses the initiative's goals and achievements over ten years. The initiative was launched to improve young people's employment prospects. It has since expanded to include entrepreneurship and agripreneurship programs. Nestlé Needs YOUth has provided thousands of work opportunities and training sessions. The program emphasizes mentorship and aims to empower young people.
This S4YE Discussion Note explores the role of the blue economy, especially fisheries, as a source of productive and sustainable jobs for youth. The research discusses the importance of understanding how the blue economy is changing in response to trends in technological innovation, environmental concerns, and the move towards a circular economy. Finally, the note discusses four main types of policy interventions that can help support job opportunities for youth in ocean-based industries: 1) deepening youth employment data analysis, 2) closing blue skills gaps, 3) improving the attractiveness and awareness of blue careers among youth; and 4) promoting youth entrepreneurship and innovation in blue economy sectors.
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.
Discover the fastest-growing skills with the new Job Skills of 2024 Report from Coursera. This data-rich report draws on skills data from Coursera’s nearly 5 million enterprise learners across 3,000 businesses, 3,600 higher education institutions, and governments in over 100 countries.
In an increasingly interconnected world driven by rapid technological advancements, the nature of work is undergoing significant transformations. The rise of digital platforms and technologies has ushered in a new era of digital employment, offering both opportunities and challenges. The International Labour Organization (ILO) recognizes the crucial need to understand and navigate the complexities of digital employment. ILO has developed these guidelines on digital employment diagnostics.
The ILO and Learning Lions are bridging the digital divide in remote areas by providing comprehensive digital skills training, mentorship and job opportunities to young people. This innovative program is transforming the lives of vulnerable communities, including refugees, and paving the way for an inclusive digital economy in Kenya.
This report details the first Australian exploratory study with students and young people to understand their perceptions and use of Generative AI. The study includes insight from 576 young people aged 14 to 26 across High Schools, Universities, TAFE, Colleges, and in work.
The Goethe-Institut Jordan established the takween Circular Design training programme to provide an opportunity for aspiring designers, creatives, and entrepreneurs from diverse fields, such as architecture, fashion, as well as product and packaging design, to develop sustainable product ideas that promote a cleaner planet.
The Goethe-Institut Jordan initiated the takween Product Design Fellowship programme as part of the Cultural and Creative Industries project. The programme offers a hands-on training for product designers and digital designers to enhance their skills and develop innovative sustainable ideas for the modern market.
