Youth Employment Programs - Independent Evaluation Group
Youth Employment Programs - Independent Evaluation Group Youth Employment Programs - Independent Evaluation Group
• Chapter Highlights• Youth employment is addressed in the Bank’s education and social protection andlabor strategies, but it is not recognized as an issue in most Bank country strategies,even in countries where youth employment is a problem.• The top 10 Bank borrowers received 70 percent of youth employment lending in thepast decade; among them are four IDA countries. The remaining 30 percent of lendingwas split among 47 countries. Most Bank operations have two to six interventions,but they are not designed comprehensively.• A “comprehensive approach” is a multipronged strategy that includes complementaryinterventions aimed at removing key constraints to youth employment across multipleelements, namely: influencing the job creation and work opportunities for youth,market characteristics, and labor supply.• Few youth employment projects are implemented by a multisectoral team.To assess the relevance of Bank Group engagement, one must ask to whatextent youth employment interventions have been analyzed and prioritizedin strategy documents. Even more important, is there a strategic engagementin youth employment in the implementation of country programs?Youth Employment in Sector Strategic DocumentsAlthough the Bank Group does not have a strategy focused on youthemployment, several sector strategies cover aspects of this issue. Thecorporate thinking on youth employment is set out in the sector strategieson education and social protection and labor. It is also emphasized in the2007 World Development Report and appears in analytical frameworks.The Bank’s new Social Protection and Labor (SPL) Strategy, 2012–2022,“Building Resilience and Opportunity,” emphasizes promoting opportunity,productivity, and growth through human capital building and access tojobs. The SPL strategy focuses on engaging individuals, especially youth,and improving the functioning of labor markets to include them by usingincentives and ALMPs to link individuals to jobs, and facilitate transitionsbetween jobs. Youth transiting from school to work are an important targetgroup for ALMPs, which in addition to training can include counseling, jobsearch assistance, intermediation services, skills certification, and wagesubsidies (World Bank 2012).The Education Strategy 2020 “Learning for All” states that better knowledgeand skills are expected to influence individual productivity and ability toadapt to new technologies and opportunities. The strategy addresses youthemployment by ensuring that those youth who leave school have the necessaryskills for productive employment. It also highlights the need to target young26 Youth Employment Programs
school dropouts early. Learning opportunities, such as work-skills trainingthrough remedial, second-chance, and job training programs are needed tohelp them find employment. The strategy calls for the engagement of non-stateplayers in meeting a range of educational needs, especially through technicaland vocational education and training. It also recommends that governmentsfocus on quality assurance and reducing inequality to leverage the growth ofprivate institutions in tertiary education and TVET.Youth employment has not been identified as a priority in IFC strategies,except in the Middle East and North Africa. Creating jobs and opportunitiesfor jobs, regardless of gender and age, have been a focus of IFC. The facility fortechnical assistance to support private sector development has a mandate to“stimulate private sector growth and reduce the high unemployment, especiallyamong the young and female entrants into the labor markets” (IFC 2006). IFC’srecent strategy (FY12–14) for the region pays special attention to addressingthe needs of youth by aiming to support: employment-generating investments;access to finance for student borrowers; and improved quality of post-secondaryeducation to meet the needs of the private sector and provide jobs for youth.Youth are the main beneficiaries of IFC’s investments in education. In thefuture, IFC is looking to increase access in underserved areas, reach lowerincomehouseholds, and improve employment opportunities (IFC 2012).The World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation(World Bank 2007) highlighted that young people make up nearly half of theunemployed worldwide. Decisions about continuing education and starting towork have the biggest long-term impact on how human capital is developedand deployed. To support youth in their development, the report presentsthree strategic policies: expanding opportunities, improving capabilities, andoffering second chances for those who have fallen behind due to difficultcircumstances or poor choices. (Appendix C, box C.1; World DevelopmentReports).Two frameworks developed by the Bank apply to the youth employmentcontext. The MILES framework (box 2.1) applies to the entire labor market(Holzmann 2007), whereas the Skills towards Employment and Productivity(STEP) framework is a sequenced combination of education, training, andlabor market activities for effective skills building. STEP consists of fiveinterlinked components:1. Get children off to the right start through early child development(ECD).2. Ensure that all students learn.3. Build job-relevant skills that employers demand.4. Encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.5. Match the supply of skills with demand through better functioninglabor markets, labor mobility, and job searches while strengtheningincome protection (World Bank 2010).What is the Evidence of Support for Youth Employment Priority Country Needs? 27
- Page 12 and 13: IEG management and colleagues provi
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- Page 69: Holzmann, Robert. 2007. MILES: Iden
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- Page 78 and 79: facilitated 69 foreign work contrac
- Page 80 and 81: awarded vouchers to about 1,000 out
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• Chapter Highlights• <strong>Youth</strong> employment is addressed in the Bank’s education and social protection andlabor strategies, but it is not recognized as an issue in most Bank country strategies,even in countries where youth employment is a problem.• The top 10 Bank borrowers received 70 percent of youth employment lending in thepast decade; among them are four IDA countries. The remaining 30 percent of lendingwas split among 47 countries. Most Bank operations have two to six interventions,but they are not designed comprehensively.• A “comprehensive approach” is a multipronged strategy that includes complementaryinterventions aimed at removing key constraints to youth employment across multipleelements, namely: influencing the job creation and work opportunities for youth,market characteristics, and labor supply.• Few youth employment projects are implemented by a multisectoral team.To assess the relevance of Bank <strong>Group</strong> engagement, one must ask to whatextent youth employment interventions have been analyzed and prioritizedin strategy documents. Even more important, is there a strategic engagementin youth employment in the implementation of country programs?<strong>Youth</strong> <strong>Employment</strong> in Sector Strategic DocumentsAlthough the Bank <strong>Group</strong> does not have a strategy focused on youthemployment, several sector strategies cover aspects of this issue. Thecorporate thinking on youth employment is set out in the sector strategieson education and social protection and labor. It is also emphasized in the2007 World Development Report and appears in analytical frameworks.The Bank’s new Social Protection and Labor (SPL) Strategy, 2012–2022,“Building Resilience and Opportunity,” emphasizes promoting opportunity,productivity, and growth through human capital building and access tojobs. The SPL strategy focuses on engaging individuals, especially youth,and improving the functioning of labor markets to include them by usingincentives and ALMPs to link individuals to jobs, and facilitate transitionsbetween jobs. <strong>Youth</strong> transiting from school to work are an important targetgroup for ALMPs, which in addition to training can include counseling, jobsearch assistance, intermediation services, skills certification, and wagesubsidies (World Bank 2012).The Education Strategy 2020 “Learning for All” states that better knowledgeand skills are expected to influence individual productivity and ability toadapt to new technologies and opportunities. The strategy addresses youthemployment by ensuring that those youth who leave school have the necessaryskills for productive employment. It also highlights the need to target young26 <strong>Youth</strong> <strong>Employment</strong> <strong>Programs</strong>
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