The ILO’s approach to Decent Work for Young People

Giovanna RossignottiCoordinator Youth Employment Programme

Course (A300850) - Trade union training in employment policies with a focus on youth employmentTurin, 11 July 2007

Content

I. ILO Youth Employment Programme

II. Policies and programmes for decent work for young people: Lessons learned

III. National Action Plans on Youth Employment

I. The ILO’s Youth Employment Programme

The ILO’s Youth Employment Programme: Maximizing impact at the country level

YEP team

Employment Sector

Social Protection Social Dialogue

Standards and FundamentalPrinciples & Rights at Work

International Training Centre, Turin

Field/country-level action

Other technical units(DCOMM, CODEV, etc.)

Fiel

d/co

untry

-leve

l act

ion

Field/country-level action

Governments

WorkersEmployers

YEP team

Employment Sector

Social Protection Social Dialogue

Standards and FundamentalPrinciples & Rights at Work

International Training Centre, Turin

Field structure Other technical units(DCOMM, CODEV, etc.)

Fiel

d st

ruct

ureField structure

Governments

WorkersEmployers

The YEP role in the YEN partnership

YEN

ILO Plan of Action to promote pathways to decent work for youth

Bu

ild

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kn

owle

dge

Ad

voca

cy &

p

rom

otio

nal

act

ivit

ies

Tec

hn

ical

ass

ista

nce

II. Policies and programmes for decent work for young people

The ILO’s approach to decent work for young people

Meeting the challenge at the nation level requires an integrated and coherent approach that:

• combines supportive economic policies with targeted interventions;

• addresses both labour demand and supply;

• tackles both the quantity and quality of employment; and

• involves multiple stakeholders, including employers’ organizations, trade unions and young people, in the design and implementation of interventions

Economic policies for employment expansion

Need to prioritize employment in economic and social policy-making

Review impact of macroeconomic and social policies on youth employment

Identify and develop sectoral policies in sectors with youth employment creation potential

Use investments in infrastructure, including through labour-based public works, to promote employment among low-income and low-skilled youth

Some lessons:

Skills, technology and employability

Quality and relevance of education and training are key to making young people employable

Make vocational education and training (VET) responsive to labour market requirements

Strengthen links between education and training and the world of work

Involve the social partners in design and implementation of VET policies and programmes

Some lessons:

Enterprise development

Improve business environment and enterprise development policies as a way to expand job opportunities for youth

Include entrepreneurship training in youth employment strategy

Ensure that entrepreneurship initiatives for youth are part of a broader strategy for business development

Improve the targeting of youth entrepreneurship initiatives, including micro-credit programmes

Some lessons:

Labour market policies and institutions

Lowering the wages of young people unlikely to be an effective means of combating youth unemployment

No conclusive evidence that increasing flexibility of employment protection legislation for youth improves long-term employment outcomes

Design ALMPs as an integrated package of services and target them to the most disadvantaged youth

Improve the capacity of Public Employment Service to bridge demand and supply of labour and to tailor their services to young jobseekers

Some lessons:

Governance, empowerment and organizational capital

Progress in improving the employment situation of young people requires broad-based and sustained commitment over time by several actors

Broad-based dialogue and consultation throughout the process and a clear definition of roles and responsibilities

Pledge of appropriate resources

Some lessons:

IV. National Action Plans on Youth Employment

What’s the experience so far?

Main findings of the 2005 UN Global analysis and evaluation of NAPs on youth employment:

1. No “magic bullet” but integrated and coherent approach2. Most of YE policies have focused on the supply side3. Labour supply interventions are likely to fail if not

accompanied by policies to stimulate demand and create additional jobs

4. Youth employment should not be approached as a sub-set of the labour market but within policies for all age groups

5. Consultative process has been weak6. Need to share knowledge and experience across countries7. Concerted and coordinated action is required at local,

national and international levels8. Strategies and programmes for youth employment provide

an entry point for building political consensus and policy coherence

Towards “operational” NAPs on YE: Getting the right approach …

problemidentification

situation analysis

monitoring& evaluation

policyoptions

policyimplementation

policydecision

The policy cycle

Towards “operational” NAPs on YE: Getting the right approach (cont.)…

Part 1- Situation analysis

- Overview of the economic and social context- Analysis of the youth labour market - Review of existing policies and programmes affecting youth employment- Institutional framework and coordination on youth employment

- Development cooperation on youth employment

Part 2 – Setting priority policies

- Problem identification- Generating policy options

Part 3 – Planning action

- Goal- Youth employment objectives and targets- Main operational outcomes and indicators- Resources - Implementation and coordination mechanism- Monitoring and evaluation

Source: Guidelines for the preparation of NAPs on youth employment (ILO, draft)

…and keeping the process right

Sustained commitment by the country Determined and coordinated efforts by many

actors (e.g. governmental institutions, employers’ and workers’ organizations, private sector, international assistance community, etc.)

Broad-based dialogue and consultation throughout the NAP process (from problem identification to monitoring and evaluation)

Clear definition of roles and responsibilities Pledge of appropriate resources

For more information, see

www.ilo.org/youth

Youth Employment ProgrammeInternational Labour office

4, route des MorillonsCH – 1211 Geneva 22

SwitzerlandEmail: youth@ilo.org