The ILO and Youth Employment The ILO Youth Employment Programme (YEP) was established in 2005 to address the global development goal and national challenges of providing young people with decent work opportunities. Through an integrated approach, it provides a wide array of services, including research, promotional activities, policy advice and technical assistance to support ILO constituents (governments, employers and workers organizations). The Programme operates through a global network of specialists at headquarters in Geneva and in more than 60 offices around the world. The ILO strategy in support of country action on youth employment combines technical assistance to strengthen the policymaking process, while supporting institutional reforms, with direct interventions and pilot projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of youth employment programmes. This illustrates that the ILO approach to youth employment does not rely on stand-alone, fragmented or dispersed interventions. Rather, it is based on the development of gender-sensitive interventions that involve a wide array of partners, including several ministries, the social partners and other organizations that represent the interests of young people. These interventions are based on the: i) review of effectiveness of policies, programme and institutions, application of lessons from evaluation and best practice, and identification of key challenges to be addressed through policy options stemming from evidence collected with national school-to-work transition surveys; ii) development of gender-sensitive policies that are embedded in larger national development frameworks; iii) implementation of priority measures through the development of plans which turn commitment to action and are supported by national budgets; and iv) monitoring and rigorous evaluation of interventions. Figure 1: Youth employment intervention model The comparative advantage of ILO’s work on youth employment lies in its proven ability to deliver quality, real-world results, influence policy change and reach various beneficiary groups. The Programme currently manages 55 youth employment projects around the world, and has achieved positive impact through advisory services, advocacy and knowledge sharing. Most recently, the ILO assisted several countries in developing National Action Plans on youth employment, which have proven to be a valuable instrument for the implementation of coherent youth employment policies and strategies through a participatory process that involves several actors in the planning and delivery of action on youth employment (see Box below).

1. The ILO and Youth Employment
The ILO Youth Employment Programme (YEP) was established in 2005 to address the
global development goal and national challenges of providing young people with decent work
opportunities. Through an integrated approach, it provides a wide array of services, including
research, promotional activities, policy advice and technical assistance to support ILO constituents
(governments, employers and workers organizations). The Programme operates through a global
network of specialists at headquarters in Geneva and in more than 60 offices around the world.
The ILO strategy in support of country action on youth employment combines
technical assistance to strengthen the policymaking process, while supporting institutional
reforms, with direct interventions and pilot projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of youth
employment programmes. This illustrates that the ILO approach to youth employment does not
rely on stand-alone, fragmented or dispersed interventions. Rather, it is based on the development
of gender-sensitive interventions that involve a wide array of partners, including several
ministries, the social partners and other organizations that represent the interests of young people.
These interventions are based on the: i) review of effectiveness of policies, programme and
institutions, application of lessons from evaluation and best practice, and identification of key
challenges to be addressed through policy options stemming from evidence collected with national
school-to-work transition surveys; ii) development of gender-sensitive policies that are embedded
in larger national development frameworks; iii) implementation of priority measures through the
development of plans which turn commitment to action and are supported by national budgets; and
iv) monitoring and rigorous evaluation of interventions.
Figure 1: Youth employment intervention model
The comparative advantage of ILO’s work on youth employment lies in its proven
ability to deliver quality, real-world results, influence policy change and reach various beneficiary
groups. The Programme currently manages 55 youth employment projects around the world, and
has achieved positive impact through advisory services, advocacy and knowledge sharing. Most
recently, the ILO assisted several countries in developing National Action Plans on youth
employment, which have proven to be a valuable instrument for the implementation of coherent
youth employment policies and strategies through a participatory process that involves several
actors in the planning and delivery of action on youth employment (see Box below).

2. Establishment of strategic partnerships on youth employment are also an essential part of
the ILO’s work on youth employment. Within the United Nations, the ILO is responsible for
reporting on youth employment progress toward the achievement of MDG1. Collaboration with
bi- and multi-lateral organizations at national, regional and international levels are essential in
fostering policy coherence on youth employment and creating linkages with broader policy
frameworks. The ILO co-chairs the UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development that is
composed of 34 UN Entities and is one of the lead Agencies of the Youth Employment Network
through which it provides advisory services, including evaluation clinics.
ILO’s technical cooperation on youth employment
The results of recent mid-term and final evaluations of youth employment projects demonstrated impact in
terms of policy and institutional change, as well provided decent jobs for young people. More specifically:
• The Education and skills training for youth employment project in Indonesia achieved the following
results: i) more than 70,000 youth benefited from job and education counselling, employability and
entrepreneurship services through the education system and employment centres; ii) around 65 per cent
of youth who attended skills training sessions are already (self) employed, 47 per cent of them are
women iii) The Ministry of National Education introduced reforms in the provision of non-formal
competency-based training by private providers and NGOs.
• The Youth employment programme in Timor Leste: i) generated 1,046,014 work days for 35,533
people in rural areas; 70 per cent of participants in the employment-intensive projects improved literacy
and numeracy skills; ii) 12,238 jobseekers received counselling, work experience, internship and job
placement services; and iii) provided off- and on-the-job training, work experience programmes,
internships, enterprise development and self-employment training to young people through the
establishment of Employment and Training Fund. This fund reached 3,656 individuals, 80 per cent of
them were women.
• The programme on public-private partnership for youth employment in Latin America (PREJAL)
provided cost-effective employment and training programmes to more than 17,000 disadvantaged youth
with approximately US$150 average cost per programme participant. The institutional development
component of the same programme managed to produce systemic change by placing youth
employment high in the development agenda of the eight countries of Latin America.
• Through the project on youth employment in Kosovo, around 135,000 youth received counselling
and guidance services, 12,317 unemployed individuals were trained in 27 priority occupations and
2,000 unemployed persons underwent self-employment and entrepreneurship training with follow-up
assistance leading to a business plan. The same project supported the development of a youth
employment policy and action plan.
• In Peru’, the youth employment action plan (2009-2012) developed by the government with the
technical support of the ILO has assisted more than 260,000 disadvantaged youth in finding a job.
In line with the action plan, the government has introduced the following institutional reforms: reduction
of the “red tape” and costs relating to job applications through the introduction by the Public Employment
Service (PES) of a “one-stop-shop” free of charge single certificate that contains all pieces of information
(Certi Joven); modernization of career guidance services; establishment of a training programme
targeting young entrepreneurs, alongside an information system that simplifies market assessments;
and establishment of an online information and orientation service for young migrants living abroad and
young Peruvians planning to seek work abroad.