DECENT WORK FOR YOUTH A by Evelin Toth Mucciacciaro, ACTRAV-EUROPE – presented on a joint session with the A course on TRAINING METHODOLOGY Resource materials: ILO Report: Youth: Pathways to Decent Work, 2005 Resolution Concerning Youth Employment, 2005 ILO Report: Global Employment Trends for Youth, 2006 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work, 2007

2 Resolution Concerning Youth Employment Adopted by the International Labour Conference in 2005 Following general tripartite discussion based on Report Youth: Pathways to Decent Work A part of ILO rights-based campaign for youth

3 Recognition of the role of youth Young women and men are among the world’s greatest assets Young people bring energy, talent and creativity to economies and create the foundations for future development

4 Facts on Youth Employment Young women and men are only one quarter of the world’s working population but they make up half of the world’s unemployed 1 out of 3 youth in the world is either seeking but unable to find work (unemployed), has given up on the job search entirely (discouraged) or is working but is still living below 2$ a day poverty line (working poor)

5 EU/Africa EU has more than 4.3 mil. unemployed young women and men; 7% of adults compared to 17,5 of the young lack jobs in the European Union; Youth unemployment in Africa: Middle East and North Africa: 25,7% Sub-Saharan Africa: 18,1%

6 Issues and Challenges Today young people are faced with a growing deficit of decent work opportunities and high levels of economic and social uncertainty Youth in Informal Economy Vulnerable position of youth on the labour market summarised in the 5 th paragraph of the Resolution

7 DECENT WORK FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: KEY MESSAGES Employment-intensive growth must be promoted; Sound education, labour market and social policies are necessary too ; Exploiting opportunities in the ICT sector; Work experience while in education should be encouraged; School dropout problems must be addressed; Vocational training and education must be relevant to labour market needs;

8 KEY MESSAGES Continued Training opportunities for young women must be expanded; Training must be a part of an integrated package; Entrepreneurship development; Policies are needed to strengthen the demand for youth labour; Labour market information and vocational guidance must be improved; Bridging the information gap.

9 POLICY COHERENCE Importance of policy coherence and integrated approach to productive employment for young people requires policies and programmes that will increase both quantity and quality of jobs for youth It means productive work in which workers’ rights are protected, which generates an adequate income, and is accompanied by adequate social safety nets

10 ILO plan of action for youth I. BUILDING KNOWLEDGE II. ADVOCACY AND THE PROMOTION OF DECENT WORK FOR YOUTH III. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE research, gathering data, country studies, share best- practice experiences; campaign to promote the Resolution; working directly with workers and employers in the development of tool kits to assist governments, W and E organisations to promote awareness of their rights and responsibilities for decent work

11 What Does the ILO Do? Give policy advice to policy makers and social partners Help governments develop and implement strategies that give young people a real chance to find decent and productive work Enhance capacity of employers’ and workers’ organizations to effectively participate in the setting of policies and programmes in favour of youth employment; Support efforts to strengthen the capacity of workers’ and employers’ organizations to reach out and engage young workers and their employers to ensure that their specific needs are taken into account in social dialogue processes, including collective bargaining Emphasize that ILS and rights deriving from labour laws and collective agreements should apply to all young workers Promote expansion of YEN (

12 What can trade unions do? Reach out to young people and organise them taking into account different factors such as, economic competition, technological change, new form of business organization and employment relationships Hire young professionals – young talking to young Give them space in trade union decision-making bodies Take young workers’ issues on board Propose innovative changes in trade union work Co-operate with schools and youth NGOs on awareness-raising about labour rights (freedom of association, right to bargain collectively, ILS)

13 Points for Discussion 1. What are the major disadvantages faced by young people in the labour market? What are the consequences of their lack of access to decent work? 2. What are the components of the package of policies and programmes that encourage decent work for young people? 3. What are the respective roles of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations in promoting pathways to decent work for young women and men? 4. What is required to ensure that international labour standards address youth employment? 5. What should be the priorities for the ILO’s policy, research, advocacy and technical assistance with regard to promoting decent and productive work for youth?

14 ‘We resolve to develop and implement strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work.’ United Nations Millenium Declaration, New York, 2000 ‘Youth is our most valuable asset – our future. We must nurture it.’ Kofi Annan, EU-LAC Heads of State Summit, Vienna 2006 Thank you!