Youth employment: Decent work, brighter futures

Key considerations for WSSD2:

• Assisting young people to reach their full potential is essential for social development. Young people build the foundations for the economies and societies of tomorrow. With continued economic uncertainty on the horizon, fostering youth employment is not only a social imperative but also an economic necessity.
• Globally, one in five young persons (20.4 per cent) are not in employment, education or training (NEET). Since two in three youth in NEET status are women, tackling the obstacles faced by young women, including through provision of targeted labour policies and care support, is critical to reducing NEET rates. Urgent multilateral support is needed and a commitment to policy actions to substantively reduce high NEET rates.
• We need to amplify and accelerate policy actions to create decent job opportunities for youth and improve their employability. Increased investment to raise the quality and relevance of education and training opportunities for young people should be accompanied by tailored and comprehensive school-to-work transition and training programmes, including quality apprenticeships, and well-designed active labour market policies. Particular attention must be given to improving the quality of these jobs so that young people are not relegated to insecure forms of employment.
• The international community needs to give attention to the youth bulge in Africa. With all signs pointing to the imminent “youthquake” in Africa, urgent global, regional and national action is required to boost investment and job growth in Africa in the coming years.