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The Youth Employment Summit (YES2002) was held in Alexandria Egypt, September 7-11, 2002. In his message to the youths who gathered in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina to participate in the launching of a ten-year campaign to address the plight of unemployed youth, the Secretary-General of the OECD, Mr. Donald J. Johnston, affirmed the OECD's commitment to work with them to create a better future
The OECD has long worked with its Member countries to identify effective policies to enhance the employment prospects of young people, as they make the transition from school to work. In addition to undertaking numerous studies of this topic, the OECD has organised high-level meetings of researchers and policy makers to discuss the nature, causes and cures of the labour market difficulties faced by youths.
The OECD's most recent assessment of youth employment and policies to assist youths experiencing difficulties in the labour market is presented in Chapter 1 of the 2002 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook. The analysis of recent trends in employment patterns confirms that youths in the 30 OECD Member countries continue to experience difficulties in obtaining stable employment, as reflected in unemployment rates for persons aged 20-24 years that are much higher than those for older workers. However, hopeful signs also emerge from the latest statistics. These include declines in the incidence of long-term unemployment and the share of youths neither in employment nor in education. Recent years have also witnessed important new policy initiatives to improve labour market opportunities for youths.
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In the late 1990s, the OECD undertook a major study of policy issues related to youth employment in OECD countries. The main findings from that research were presented at a conference organised jointly by the US Departments of Education and Labor and the OECD, which took place in Washington D.C. on 23-24 February 1999.
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The editorial of the 1999 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook provides an assessment of the policy implications of the research on youth employment that was presented at the Washington conference. It argues that labour market programmes to help disadvantaged young persons into jobs are more likely to succeed if they collaborate with local employers to improve the quality of the jobs available and provide ladders to further training.
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Another key lesson from recent OECD research is that labour market programmes to help youths experiencing difficulties in the labour market, while essential, are only one component of a comprehensive response to the challenge to provide adequate employment opportunities for youths. Two other policy areas are critical for success, albeit with a substantial time lag. These are: i) schooling reforms designed to minimise the number of youths entering the labour market with neither adequate qualifications nor the cognitive skills and aptitudes required to participate in lifelong learning; and ii) structural reforms to improve the overall functioning of the labour market.
School reform: A variety of strategies are being used by OECD countries to reduce the number of youths leaving school without having acquired the foundations skills and qualifications required to succeed in the labour market. These include broader and more diverse teaching and learning methods, a stronger focus on generic skills, increasing the general content in vocational education programmes and an increased emphasis on vocational preparation in general education. There are, however, difficulties in addressing these challenges (e.g. inadequately trained teachers, too rigid pathways from education to work, and outdated guidance and information services). The OECD report, From Initial Education to Working Life: Making Transitions Work, presents the key results of a multi-year study of the transition from initial education to working life.
For information about this report, see
To learn more about the OECD's programme of work on school reform and policies to foster life long learning, see the about page for Education.
Labour market reform: The evidence shows that as long as overall unemployment remains high, targeted programmes are not the answer to youth employment problems. What is key is first to lower overall unemployment on a durable basis. Over the past decade, the OECD has conducted extensive analysis of the labour market reforms required to cure high unemployment. Its analysis of the gains that have resulted from implementing the reforms identified in the OECD Jobs Strategy, show that youths are among the primary beneficiaries of these reforms.
Download an excerpt from the 1999 OECD study "Implementing the OECD Jobs Strategy: Assessing Performance and Policy"
Bibliography:
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