Diagnostics

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.

This report assesses the damaging impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on youth employment in Asia and the Pacific and recommends critical policy responses.

The emergence of the platform or gig economy is a major trend. These changes will affect the organisation of employment relationships, job profiles and the requisite skills. This paper analyses six studies that have addressed these issues, while focusing on aspects with a bearing on TVET. 

School closures during COVID-19 (coronavirus) led to an unprecedented global experiment in the delivery of remote learning. This report seeks to assess what lessons can be drawn from experiences of remote learning during COVID-19 in K-12 education, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.

This study includes three main sections that have been organized in chronological order within this report: the first one, “What can we learn from education emergency responses in low- and middle-income countries?” analyzes the emergency education responses to the COVID-19 pandemic of over 120 governments from April until May 2020.

This report explores the labor market outcomes and returns of SCPs, examines their providers, and identifies the practices adopted by the best programs. Relying on unique data that includes a novel survey of short-cycle programs (SCPs) directors in five LAC countries, it finds that while SCPs generate, on average, good labor market outcomes, they vary greatly in quality. Drawing on these findings, this report discusses how to create an environment where good programs are offered and students have the interest and means to attend them.

An innovation of IFC, Vitae helps higher education institutions understand how well they’re preparing students for the workforce. It’s a data-driven approach for public and private institutions to evaluate themselves against a global benchmark of good practices. Vitae identifies employability gaps and proposes practical interventions to equip an institution to chart a path to transformation.

The purpose of this report is to assess opportunities and constraints holding back private sector growth in Nepal. It conducts a diagnostic of the main cross-cutting constraints to private sector competitiveness and growth through data analysis, synthesis of existing research, and stakeholder consultations.

This diagnostic identifies opportunities to stimulate sustainable economic growth and development by harnessing the power of the private sector in Angola.

The purpose of this diagnostic is to support Ethiopia’s transition to a private sector-driven growth model that advances the country’s development objectives and, in particular, delivers the necessary jobs.