Building an Asia-Pacific youth employment coalition: Reviewing past policies and the way forward

As the world continues to deal with a global recession and a widespread jobs crisis, the political commitment to address youth employment has become very high in Asia and the Pacific. The region may be leading the economic recovery, but young women and men between 15 and 24 years of age are still three to five times more likely to be unemployed in comparison to adults. This gap has resulted in economies not reaching their growth potential and has played a role in fomenting a sense of frustration among the underutilized youth.

This working paper addresses the importance of acting quickly to implement youth employment policies in a coordinated way. It provides elements of a response to a regional chapter of a possible “Global Coalition for Youth Employment” which was called for by the President of Indonesia, His Excellency Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the International Labour Conference in June 2011.

Following a review of existing policies and programmes, the paper suggests solutions which address both the supply and demand sides of the labour market. It calls for Asia-Pacific countries to unite in the formation of a coalition of governments, unions and employers in order to enhance youth employment within the context of economic prosperity and decent work for all.