Resources on youth employment

Giving an ancient craft a new shine: Training youth in the brassware sector in India

27 March 2012

Low levels of education, lack of skills, diplomas or certificates within a technical field severely limit the chances of gainful employment for a vast number of youth in India. A new programme of skills developing and training, however, is providing an alternative. Neelam Agnihotri, ILO communication officer in New Delhi, reports how this initiative is providing new jobs for youth in the centuries-old traditional brassware industry in Moradabad, northern India.
From the depths of an African shantytown, a nascent youth employment movement grows

14 December 2011

In Africa’s second largest slum, youth unemployment is sky high. But cooperative projects are helping youth find work and slowly lift themselves out of poverty through such projects as raising food in community gardens, processing waste for bio-fuel or providing improved sanitation. Journalist Anne Holmes reports on how this emerging economic revival is making a small but significant dent in a major ongoing challenge.
Cambodia's young people look for a brighter future

02 December 2011

Story of Yeth Chenda, 21-year-old Yeth CHenda recently found a job as a receptionist in a rural hotel in Kampot, Southern Cambodia, with the assistance of an International Labour Organization (ILO) job centre project
Decent work for Africa’s Youth

10 October 2011

Africa has the youngest population in the world: Young women and men represent the continent’s best hope for getting on a sustainable development path. However, youth unemployment rates are double adult unemployment rates for Africa as a whole – for North Africa they are even four times higher. ILO Online reports from Egypt where the ILO supports a pioneering project helping youth to find decent employment after leaving school.
Young Timorese beautician is a cut above the rest

29 July 2011

Eugenia de Jesus Cardoso now runs a successful beauty salon in her hometown, in Maliana, her hometown in Timore-Leste. She gained the business and specialist skills she needed during a training programme run by the Timore-Leste Government and the ILO’s Youth Employment Promotion (YEP) programme. By Matt Crook for the ILO Liaison Office for Timor-Leste
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and International Women’s Day: 100 years on

08 March 2011

The first International Women’s Day commemorated a demonstration by women workers in New York in 1857. But what established the modern celebration of International Women’s Day in history, was the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York on 25 March 1911 that killed 146 young women workers, most of whom were immigrants. From the ashes of that tragic event, the pursuit of social justice for women and men ignited that day continues be felt around the world 100 years on. From New York, ILO On-line reports on the fire that changed everything.
Youth join green jobs push in China

15 February 2011

Yang Shumbo, a Chinese electronic sciences student invented a device to save electricity. He developed this into a business under a pilot project of the Greener Business Option (GBO), an ILO Green Jobs Programme initiative. GBO aims to encourage entrepreneurship in green businesses among young people. Report from Chengdu, China, by Satoshi Sasaki, Specialist on Enterprise Development and Job Creation, ILO Beijing and Vincent Jugault, Senior Specialist in Environment and Decent Work, ILO Bangkok.
Promoting job creation for young people in multinational enterprises

01 September 2010

Liberia’s 14 year war left gaping holes in the infrastructure critical to investment and recovery and delayed a generation of youth from entering the labour market. Today, almost two-thirds of the population live in poverty. Youth between ages of 15 and 35 make up 53 per cent of the workforce, yet constitute 58 per cent of the unemployed. The integration of young people into the labour market is critical for overall economic development and in securing stability in a post-conflict country like Liberia. ILO Online asked Yukiko Arai, senior specialist in the ILO’s Multinational Enterprises Programme, how multinational enterprises (MNEs) can contribute to the generation of more quality jobs for local youth.
Youth employment in crisis: Questions and answers on the situation of youth on the labour market

14 July 2010

Young people have been disproportionately affected by the global crisis that broke out in the autumn of 2008. This trend has exacerbated earlier challenges and there is concern that unless action is taken, the situation of youth will become unsustainable, putting social cohesion at threat. Interview with Raymond Torres, Director of the International Institute for Labour Studies and Steven Tobin, ILO economist, co-authors of a new report entitled "Youth employment in crisis".
Decent Work in India - A triumph of enterprise: Sitabai’s story

09 March 2010

Last month, the ILO’s tripartite partners in India – the government, employers and workers – formally adopted a Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP for India). The new programme will focus on enhanced opportunities for productive work for women and men, particularly for youth and vulnerable groups. The experience of a worker in Madhya Pradesh province illustrates what the ILO Decent Work Agenda can mean for workers in the vast country.