Youth unemployment has lifelong negative effects as it delays career development and reduces future earning potential and job stability. While academic achievement is still important, employers also seek soft skills and experience when hiring. Governments and businesses should focus on improving access to work experience for youth through initiatives like hiring, training, mentoring programs, and promoting vocational education which faces stigma but high demand in many fields. Vocational programs can inspire students by emphasizing career paths, entrepreneurship opportunities, and potential for future academic pursuits in technical fields.

1. Boosting employability skills

2. YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT TRENDS
High rates of youth unemployment represent both widespread
personal misfortune for individuals and a lost opportunity for
critical national and global economic development.
Unemployment in youth has been shown to have lifelong
effects on income and employment stability, because affected
young people start out with weaker
Early career credentials, and show lower confidence and
resilience in dealing with labor market opportunities and
setbacks over the course of their working lives.
.

3. In an increasingly competitive
employment market, employers
are looking beyond simple
academic achievement when
considering applicants for a job
or internship

4. While we are making steady progress in our efforts to
get more people into work through a range of
initiatives and programmes, it is critical that we
regularly review what we are doing to ensure that we
are moving in the right direct.
I welcome the employability and skills review, which
will help us to focus our efforts in the areas that need
to be developed.”

5. •
Realizing the Potential of Young Workers
•
•
For businesses that take a strategic approach
toward building and accessing young talent,
the potential rewards are substantial: younger
workers represent an asset to firms in their
capacities as consumers, influencers,
innovators, and tech-savvy employees.

6. Promote a More Positive Image for Vocational Education
A major and specialized new messaging initiative, with the credibility of employers behind
it, is needed in the area of vocational education.
ManpowerGroup’s talent shortage surveys consistently include technicians and skilled
trades positions among the most acute areas of skills shortage around the globe. Yet in
countries as diverse as India, Mexico, and the U.S., vocational education programs serve
only a small minority of secondary students and are often perceived as an inferior and low-
status alternative to an academic education.
Young people, especially those disenchanted with an academic education and in danger of
dropping out of school, need to understand the high demand that exists, and the
competitive salaries available, for skilled and well-prepared vocational and technical
personnel. Young people can be inspired by a vision of vocational career paths that include
entrepreneurship and small business formation based on technical and trades expertise, as
well as the possibilities for academic re-entry in technical, engineering, and other STEM
programs at a later career stage.

7. INVESTMENTS TO IMPROVE YOUTH ACCESS
TO WORK EXPERIENCE
To succeed in the workplace, young people need to acquire not only skills, but the
experience that demonstrates to employers that they are capable of applying those
skills to practical business tasks.
Commit to Hiring, Training, and Mentoring Youth
Invest in Entrepreneurship Education in Schools, Colleges, and
Vocational Institutions