G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting
ILO Director-general presentation on the Antalya G20 Youth Goal
Findings of the ILO and OECD report on progress in 2022 towards achieving the Antalya target, to reduce the share of young people who are most at risk of being permanently left behind by 15 per cent by 2025.
(PowerPoint Presentation: Slide 1: The Antalya Youth Target)
Thank you very much, Minister.
I have the pleasure of presenting the findings of the ILO and OECD report on progress in 2022 towards achieving the Antalya target, to reduce the share of young people who are most at risk of being permanently left behind by 15% by 2025.
(Slide 2: Unequal progress towards the Antalya Target)
Achieving the Antalya target was derailed by the COVID-19 crisis - which comes as no surprise at all. But the good news is that the NEET rate- those who are Not in Employment, Education or Training- is now back to or below its pre-pandemic level in most of the G20 countries.
This chart shows whether this recovery has been enough to get back on track. It compares the actual decline in the NEET rate, shown by the blue bars, with the decline required to reach the Antalya target, depicted by the orange triangles.
Where the actual decline is greater than the required decline, then the country concerned is on track.
Overall, 12 G20 countries were on track at the end of 2022.
However others face challenges, and Brazil, Indonesia, Korea and South Africa confront the particular challenge of reversing a rise in the NEET rate that occurred prior to the pandemic.
(Slide 3: Further progress is needed)
In this graph, on the left side you see that in nearly all G20 countries, the NEET rate is higher for young women than for young men. One particular barrier for young women is that the low quality employment they can obtain seriously reduces the incentives for labour market participation.
Another structural challenge, shown on the right side, is that the majority of the NEETs are inactive - many have lost touch with the labour market and become particularly hard to reach.
(Slide 4: Initiatives implemented in 2022 by G20 countries to achieve the Antalya Target)
This chart is based on the information that you provided on the measures you implemented in 2022.
It shows that:
In conclusion, allow me to provide three proposals for achieving the Antalya target. Firstly, it is important to improve access to both more, and better, employment. The quantity can be increased by providing fiscal space for investments in economic sectors with high youth employment potential.
And it is just as important to invest in improving the quality of employment. This can start a virtuous circle of higher labour income leading to higher consumption and savings, which in turn leads to higher levels of investment in productive enterprises.
Secondly, it is important to improve the employability of the youth most at risk of being left behind. More investments in education, and especially in TVET and quality apprenticeships, can make a real difference.
And thirdly, it is essential to tackle youth inactivity and gender inequalities. And active labour market policies need to be carried out in combination with income support in order to reach the most disadvantaged youth, who otherwise could not participate.
Colleagues,
Investing in our youth is investing in a just and peaceful future.
Thank you so much, Chair.
Thank you very much, Minister.
I have the pleasure of presenting the findings of the ILO and OECD report on progress in 2022 towards achieving the Antalya target, to reduce the share of young people who are most at risk of being permanently left behind by 15% by 2025.
(Slide 2: Unequal progress towards the Antalya Target)
Achieving the Antalya target was derailed by the COVID-19 crisis - which comes as no surprise at all. But the good news is that the NEET rate- those who are Not in Employment, Education or Training- is now back to or below its pre-pandemic level in most of the G20 countries.
This chart shows whether this recovery has been enough to get back on track. It compares the actual decline in the NEET rate, shown by the blue bars, with the decline required to reach the Antalya target, depicted by the orange triangles.
Where the actual decline is greater than the required decline, then the country concerned is on track.
Overall, 12 G20 countries were on track at the end of 2022.
However others face challenges, and Brazil, Indonesia, Korea and South Africa confront the particular challenge of reversing a rise in the NEET rate that occurred prior to the pandemic.
(Slide 3: Further progress is needed)
In this graph, on the left side you see that in nearly all G20 countries, the NEET rate is higher for young women than for young men. One particular barrier for young women is that the low quality employment they can obtain seriously reduces the incentives for labour market participation.
Another structural challenge, shown on the right side, is that the majority of the NEETs are inactive - many have lost touch with the labour market and become particularly hard to reach.
(Slide 4: Initiatives implemented in 2022 by G20 countries to achieve the Antalya Target)
This chart is based on the information that you provided on the measures you implemented in 2022.
It shows that:
- First, improving education and skills remains your preferred policy option. Among your initiatives, one third aim at increasing youth participation in TVET, and one in four seek to help young people obtain basic qualifications.
- Second, measures to improve youth employment opportunities are gaining in importance. They include supporting youth who wish to work but who are not actively seeking employment.
- Third, only 7 per cent of the reported initiatives are mixed interventions – that is, integrated programmes combining supply, demand and intermediation measures. Yet when properly designed, integrated approaches are extremely effective, as the implementation of the European Youth Guarantee has shown.
In conclusion, allow me to provide three proposals for achieving the Antalya target. Firstly, it is important to improve access to both more, and better, employment. The quantity can be increased by providing fiscal space for investments in economic sectors with high youth employment potential.
And it is just as important to invest in improving the quality of employment. This can start a virtuous circle of higher labour income leading to higher consumption and savings, which in turn leads to higher levels of investment in productive enterprises.
Secondly, it is important to improve the employability of the youth most at risk of being left behind. More investments in education, and especially in TVET and quality apprenticeships, can make a real difference.
And thirdly, it is essential to tackle youth inactivity and gender inequalities. And active labour market policies need to be carried out in combination with income support in order to reach the most disadvantaged youth, who otherwise could not participate.
Colleagues,
Investing in our youth is investing in a just and peaceful future.
Thank you so much, Chair.