Investing in technology to promote youth employment in Bolivia
With more than 200 youth from Bolivia, ILO participated in the "Employment and Technology" panel of the Manq'a Tinku event, organized by Manq'a Schools, with the support of the Municipal Secretariat of Economic Development.
2 November 2022
La Paz - How does technology help to break youth employment gaps? This was the question that guided the Manq'a Tinku event which took place on Tuesday 18 October. Manq'a Tinku is a space for dialogue between young entrepreneurs and different institutions from the private sector, academia and technological sector of the city of La Paz.
The event included the participation of the ILO in the panel "Employment and Technology", which highlighted the need to address issues such as soft and technical skills, and innovation in technology so that young people can cope with changes in the world of work.
“The future of work will depend on the decisions taken today to foster better links between technology and youth employment, putting people at the center and ensuring social protection, training in new skills and guaranteeing their rights.
Chandni Lanfranchi, Technical Officer for SME Development and Formalization, ILO Office for the Andean Countries
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged Latin American countries to devise strategies that enable workers and economic units in the informal economy to effectively take advantage of the digital transformation to increase productivity, build resilience and transition to formality. It has also focused on the urgent need to address the gaps in access to technology, precisely among groups in highly vulnerable situations.
According to the ILO report Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022: Investing in Transforming the Future for Youth, targeted investments in digital technologies could contribute substantially to youth job creation. Achieving universal broadband coverage could lead to a net increase of 24 million jobs worldwide, of which 6.4 million would be for young people.
In addition, the ILO points out that e-formalization initiatives, increasingly relevant in the region, should facilitate the modernization of the routes to formalization, including aspects such as productivity, incentives, standards and supervision.
Ruth Marine, a participant of the Impulsa Programme, and Roxana Becerra, a participant of the RE-Activate Programme, clearly understand the importance of digital technologies to successfully face the challenges of the labour market, especially in terms of increasing their competitiveness and resilience and promoting the formalization of their businesses. They participated in Manq'a Tinku and shared their experiences.
“They have been very supportive, but I still need help with information about certifications and registrations for the sale of my products.
Roxana Becerra, owner of the family business Coffee Brothers
“We have done very well with the Impulsa Programme, they have helped us to see the steps we need to take to grow our business, but we still need to continue working on business registration and strengthening our promotional efforts on social networks.
Ruth Marine, owner of A toda llama
Promoting actions that encourage the transition to formality through the use of technology must be accompanied by the promotion of decent working conditions and the improvement of opportunities to create sustainable, inclusive and resilient enterprises for young people.
💬#OIT participó en el conversatorio #ManqaTinku, un encuentro por el empleo y el emprendimiento juvenil 🙋🏽♀️🙋🏽en #Bolivia 🇧🇴
— OIT Países Andinos (@OITAndina) October 18, 2022
Se abordaron temas sobre tecnología, emprendimiento, habilidades blandas y empleo juvenil para afrontar los cambios en el #mundolaboral
c/ @ICCOLatam pic.twitter.com/UDCYjwtj1F