Jobs for Youth/Des emplois pour les jeunes : Off to a Good Start? : Jobs for Youth

Promoting a smooth transition from school to work, and ensuring that youth are given the opportunities to move on in their careers and lives, have long been issues of fundamental importance for our economies and societies. Today, they are even more pressing challenges as the global economy emerges from the worst crisis of the past 50 years. Indeed, young people have borne much of the brunt of the recent jobs crisis. The youth unemployment rate is approaching 20% in the OECD area, with nearly 4 million more youth among the unemployed than at the end of 2007. The initial experience in the labour market has a profound influence on later working life. Getting off to a good start facilitates youth integration into the world of work and lays the foundation for a good career, while it can be difficult to catch up after an initial failure. In particular, the jobs crisis is likely to leave long-lasting "scarring" effects on some of the current generation of school-leavers, particularly if they face multiple disadvantages, such as having low skills and also coming from a disadvantaged background. Tackling the youth jobs crisis requires a strong commitment from all: the youth themselves, the government through well-targeted and effective policy measures, social partners though their participation in the dialogue, and other key actors – such as teachers, practitioners and parents – who can really make a difference to investing in youth. This report makes an important contribution to a new agenda of youth-friendly employment policies and practices. It analyses the situation of youth employment and unemployment in the context of the jobs crisis and identifies successful policy measures in OECD countries. But it also discusses structural reforms in education and in the labour market that can facilitate the transition from school to work. The report draws on both recent data and the main lessons that emerged from the 16 country reviews conducted as part of the OECD Jobs for Youth/Des emplois pour les jeunes programme. Foreword......Page p0005.djvu Acknowledgements......Page p0007.djvu Table of Contents......Page p0009.djvu Abbreviations......Page p0013.djvu Executive Summary......Page p0015.djvu Introduction......Page p0023.djvu How are young people faring in the jobs crisis?......Page p0025.djvu Youth unemployment and employment trends......Page p0026.djvu Key factors at stake......Page p0033.djvu Notes......Page p0035.djvu The youth employment challenge......Page p0037.djvu The magnitude of the demographic challenge......Page p0038.djvu Diversity of youth labour market outcomes across individual countries......Page p0041.djvu Towards a scoreboard of youth labour markets......Page p0050.djvu Notes......Page p0054.djvu Pathways and hurdles for some youth in the school-to-work transition......Page p0055.djvu Aggregate indicators......Page p0056.djvu Multiple pathways......Page p0064.djvu Notes......Page p0071.djvu Better education and training to improve the transition to work......Page p0073.djvu Key challenges of initial education and learning on the job......Page p0074.djvu Ensuring that youth leave education with the skills required on the labour market......Page p0086.djvu Notes......Page p0099.djvu Removing demand-side barriers to youth employment......Page p0101.djvu Main labour-demand opportunities and barriers......Page p0102.djvu Tackling the demand-side barriers to youth employment......Page p0119.djvu Notes......Page p0124.djvu Minimising the longer-term impact of the jobs crisis on youth......Page p0125.djvu Helping youth weather the jobs crisis......Page p0126.djvu Measures that work for youth......Page p0129.djvu Averting the “scarring” effects on the current generation of school-leavers......Page p0131.djvu Securing the safety net and the employment and training pathways of young workers......Page p0137.djvu Making active labour market measures for the least employable young people more effective and strengthening social protection for the most disadvantaged youth......Page p0139.djvu Notes......Page p0144.djvu Conclusion: implementing jobs for youth policies......Page p0145.djvu Broadening opportunities and developing capabilities in the current economic context......Page p0146.djvu The longer-term view: tackling handicaps early and re-assessing them regularly......Page p0149.djvu The co-ordinated view: involving all actors......Page p0151.djvu Notes......Page p0153.djvu Bibliography......Page p0155.djvu This report analyzes the situation of youth employment and unemployment in the context of the jobs crisis and identifies successful policy measures in OECD countries. It also discusses structural reforms in education and in the labor market that can facilitate the transition from school to work. The report draws on both recent data and the main lessons that emerged from the 16 country reviews (for Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovak Republic, Spain, United Kingdom and United States) conducted as part of the OECD Jobs for Youth program.--Publisher's description This Concluding Report Of The Jobs For Youth Series Analyses The Situation Of Youth Employment And Unemployment In The Context Of The Jobs Crisis And Identifies Successful Policy Measures In Oecd Countries As Well As Structural Reforms In Education And In The Labour Market That Can Help.