Sushil Ram CYP Pacific Centre

Pacific regional Conference on “Investing in Youth Employment” Held in Port Vila Vanuatu 45 key stakeholders working directly with youth employment/youth enterprise in the Pacific region. Participants included Government, civil society, private sector and financial institution representatives from Cook Islands, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Niue, Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand and Australia; and international/regional organisation such as ILO, PYC, UN agencies and SPC.

Youth Employment Challenge  Youth unemployment – critical challenge  The economic crisis has brought the largest ever cohort of unemployed youth  Almost half of the youth unemployed -45% came from Asia and the Pacific,  Youth unemployment affects: 14.7% in South East Asia and the Pacific

Pacific Youth Employment In the Pacific: The Official Youth Unemployment Rate is 6.5% - ranges from 45% in Solomon to 5.3% in PNG. Problems of labour market information -  Labor Market Information & Analysis underdeveloped, available data is out-dated, each country has own criteria for determining who counts as unemployed youth unemployment rate maybe higher than the official statistics Youth unemployment has been more sensitive to the global economic crisis than adult unemployment Young people are 3 to 5 times more likely to be unemployed than adults. 4 times in the Pacific

Economic realities in the Pacific Economic uncertainties and limited private sector development Some of the world’s smallest economies are located in the Pacific region young people in the Pacific region, like the developing world, have limited access to education, job skills training, and self-employment opportunities. High levels of youth unemployment in the Pacific are compounded by the low rate of entrepreneurship among young women and men main cause has been the lack of skills and knowledge, support services, capital, and entrepreneurship culture

“ Pacific Declaration on Investing in Youth Employment” Recognized  youth unemployment as a critical issue  young people need to be the focus – and not the indirect beneficiaries- of job creation policies  the positive contribution that the CYP, ILO and PYC have made, and the commitment to collaborate further  Importance of regional mandates, the MDG’s, Pacific Plan, the Pacific Action Plan on Decent Work, the Pacific Youth Strategy, and the Commonwealth PAYE  Endorsement of the Youth Employment advocacy initiative - to include Youth Employment on the “Pacific Island Forum Leaders 2011” Meting Agenda.

Key Recomendations Employment Creation  Governments, the private sector and development agencies were asked to put in place enabling environments for job creation  Need for governments to develop comprehensive policy on the youth employment at the national level  The Private Sector as one of the key stakeholders on youth employment should be involved to a greater extent in addressing the issue  Expand the Pacific seasonal Labour Scheme (Aust/NZ)

Key Recomendations Employability To enhance employability of young people, action be taken in the fields of  access to education and skills training,  invest in education and vocational training for young people, and improve the impact of those investments  labour market information and  early awareness to the World of Work.

Key Recommendation Entrepreneurship  need to develop an innovative entrepreneurial culture  Entrepreneurship has become central to economic growth  Youth should be considered as part of the solution  need to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship  Human Resource Development and Entrepreneurship Training, support services, apprenticeships  Capital, micro finance schemes,  Product & market development  Conducive environment for youth entrepreneurs

Key Recomendations Equal opportunities develop an inclusive society – all youths - are provided with equal access and opportunities including basic social protection. Efforts should be made to provide opportunities to disadvantaged youth.

Regional Action Plan 1) Develop the Pacific Youth Employment Strategy: “PacificYES”- the CYP, ILO and PYC were entrusted to take the lead to develop the PacificYES 2) Development of National Youth Strategy or NAP - all countries present committed themselves to develop national Youth Employment Strategy and NAP.

Regional Action Plan  Develop Pacific Youth Employment Network: “PacificYEN”- to facilitate better coordination, resource mobilization, knowledge sharing and policy engagement.  Prioritizing Youth Employment - agreed to ensure that Youth Employment is given the highest priority with National and Regional agendas, including  Strategic Partnerships - The CYP, the ILO and PYC agreed to strengthen its partnership to further enhance Youth Employment policies and Programs

Key Recommendations to CYP Policy formulation advocacy and technical assistance Capacity building of key stakeholders dealing with youth employment Entrepreneurship training, replicating the CYCI model in some Pacific Countries Advocacy and knowledge sharing/good practices

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