Investing in youth\\\'s skill development

"We are witnessing a young generation frustrated by the chronic mismatch between skills and work. The best answer to the economic downturn and youth unemployment is to ensure that young people acquire the basic skills and relevant training they need to enter the world of work with confidence." -Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO
Around the world, youth populations are large and growing. They are the most strong, self-confident, creative and productive guiding force of any nation. The well-being and prosperity of young people largely depends on the skills that education and training can provide. Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work is the 10th edition of the Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report which shows how vital it is to ensure that all young people have the skills they need to prosper.  It describes how governments can give young people a better start in life so that they can greet the world of work with confidence. The Report also identifies the current status of funding for achieving the EFA goals, outlining the roles that governments, donors and the private sector can play in raising new resources and using them more effectively.
The Report is divided into two parts. The first part provides a snapshot of progress towards the six EFA goals, and towards spending on education to finance the goals. The second part turns to the third EFA goal, attaching particular attention to and emphasis on the skill needs of the young people.
The Report shows that progress in many of the six EFA goals is slowing down, and that most goals are unlikely to be met. Despite significant progress in some regions, few are on track to meet the six EFA goals set in 2000, and some are a long way behind. Improvements in early childhood care and education have been too slow. Progress towards universal primary education is stalling. The global number of children out of school stagnated at 61 million. Of 100 children out of school, 47 are never expected to enter. Adult literacy remains an elusive goal. In 2010, around 775 million adults were illiterate, two-thirds of them women. Gender disparities and global inequality in learning outcomes remain stark.
The Report casts an in-depth look at youth skills, one of the least analysed of the EFA goals. Young people everywhere have great potential. But this Report shows that many young people lack foundation skills. In 123 low and lower-middle income countries, around 200 million of 15- to 24- year-olds have not even completed or have left primary school without the skills they need, equivalent to one in five young people. Many living in urban poverty or in the remote rural communities and young women in particular, are unemployed or working for low pay. These 200 million young people need a second chance to acquire the basic literacy and numeracy skills, which are essential to learning further skills for work.
Poor young populations, urban and rural, are the most in need of skill training. In urban areas, the youth population is larger than it has ever been and is growing. In a fifth of the countries analysed, poor, urban young people have less education than in rural areas. Over a quarter earn little more than US$ 1.25 a day. The vast majority of the world's poor and least educated live in the rural areas, though. Many young farmers facing land scarcity and the effects of climate change lack even basic skills needed to protect themselves and make ends meet. Women are the most in need. They need training in business and marketing to find opportunities beyond farm work and reduce the obligation of migrating to cities in search of a job.
This well-documented EFA Global Monitoring Report reminds us that education is not only about making sure all children can attend school. It is about setting young people up for life by giving them the opportunities to find decent work, earn a living, contribute to their families and communities, and fulfil their potential. At the wider level, it is about helping countries nurture the workforce they need to grow in the global economy.  This Report suggests that governments and donors must continue to prioritise education by investing for the future. Countries should look to their own resources which could turn out to be giving millions of children and young people the skills for life. Whatever the sources of funding, the needs of the disadvantaged young people including women must be a high priority in every strategy.
Investing in the young people's skills is a smart move for countries seeking to boost their economic growth. This Report identifies the ten most important steps that should be taken urgently for a better future of the young people: 1) Provide second-chance education for those with low or no foundation skills, 2) Tackle the barriers that limit access to lower secondary school, 3) Make upper secondary education more accessible to the disadvantaged and improve its relevance to work, 4) Give poor urban youth access to skills training for better jobs, 5) Aim policies and programmes at youths in deprived rural areas, 6) Link skills training with social protection for the poorest youths, 7) Prioritise the training needs of disadvantaged young women, 8) Harness the potential of technology to enhance opportunities for young people, 9) Improve planning by strengthening data collection and coordination of skills programmes, and 10) Mobilise additional funding from diverse sources dedicated to the training needs of disadvantaged youths.
Finally, a point must be made that this evidence-based EFA Global Monitoring Report titled Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work is an indispensable tool for education policy makers, academics, researchers, development professionals - and everyone interested in tapping education's power to build a more equitable and prosperous world.
The writer is an independent researcher.
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Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work
Published by UNESCO, 2012
ISBN 978-92-3-104240-9
Pages 480