GENERATION OF QUALITY YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

GENERATION OF QUALITY YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

  • As extensively described in the document drafted by the ILO for discussion during the Preparatory Meeting of the Americas to the IV Global Conference on Sustained Eradication of Child Labour “Inputs for reflection in the Americas” (February 2017), the UN defines ‘youth’, as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. However, at present, in many cases the age limit extends to 29 years (ILO, 2009).
  • • As for specific standards, we could mention the Resolution concerning youth employment (ILO, International Labour Conference, 2005) which defined challenges, policies and actions according to the situation of the youths vis-a-vis decent work as “a critical element in poverty eradication and sustainable development, growth and welfare for all”.
  • • Also, in 2012, the International Labour Conference adopted a Resolution on the Youth Employment Crisis, a call for tripartite action to act and oppose the limitations faced by youths to engage in decent work, emphasising their vulnerability in an unfavourable economic context that further deteriorates the quality of employment and increases unemployment.

COMMITMENTS UNDERTAKEN

  1. The Organization of American States (OAS) through the initiative of the Inter-American Network for Labour Administration (RIAL), establishes a horizontal cooperation and technical assistance mechanism between the Ministries of Labour of the Americas with the purpose of reinforcing human and institutional capacity in a context of economic and social transformations, specifically in the following aspects: 1) streamline and reinforce management ; 2) improve labour markets’ operation; 3) guarantee professional training in line with the productive sector’s needs; 4) monitor the enforcement of legislation and defend workers’ rights; and 5) strengthen tripartite social dialogue.
  2. Some Latin America and Caribbean countries have promoted waged youth employment through various initiatives such as training and labour intermediation programmes captured in specific legislation, e.g. in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Mexico and Honduras; training or apprenticeship contracts in Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay; subsidies to youth employment schemes in the cases of Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Panama and through special plans for youths, with minimum wages (Chile, Costa Rica and Paraguay) and work programmes in Paraguay and Uruguay.
  3. The Declaration "Youth, Entrepreneurship and Education" of the XXVII Meeting of Presidents of Ibero-American Employers’ Organisations issued in Cartagena, Colombia on October 26 and 27, 2016, describes a number of initiatives to position youth as strategic players to achieve social, economic, political and cultural transformation. Key elements to their success are quality education, educational policies designed together with the private sector, training, promoting business initiatives, entrepreneurship and youth self-employment.
  4. Finally, the Joint Statement made by the B20-L20 “For Sustainable Growth, Decent Work and Social Cohesion in the Digital Economy” on May 17, 2017, establishes as priorities an approach to quality education and learning, creating and reinforcing educational and vocational training institutions, and policies to promote lifelong learning.

POSITION OF THE EMPLOYERS’ SECTOR

  • The challenge posed by the high youth unemployment is the employers’ concern not only from the labour market economic perspective, but also from the human standpoint and its impact on the person’s full and satisfactory development.
  • • On one hand, there is large number of educated and trained youth who have no access to their chosen trades or professions, not even if succeeding to enter the labour market; and on the other, there are millions of youth who did not enjoy the opportunity of a long-lasting education; both situations may lead to social fracture and instability since they are excluded from job opportunities that the previous generations enjoyed.
  • • This has therefore been a challenge to overcome, broadly recognised by the international community, enterprises and business organisations, contributing to adopt successful practical initiatives and guaranteeing that the general commitment to try and improve the situation of youths translates into more employment opportunities, thus disrupting the cycle of unemployment and exclusion. Some examples of the creation of jobs for youths who need to become an active part of society on the basis of quality employment in the region are: socio-productive hubs, agro-industry, infrastructure expansion, materials recycling, and conventional and renewable energies.
  • • The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) state the need to empower the youth, providing a fertile environment for the realization of their rights and skills, helping countries to make advantage of their demographic situation. Specifically, the eighth goal urges all countries to promote sustained, and inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
  • • To face this challenge, it is key to reinforce the link between education, enterprise and employment for the private initiative to fuel our economies and our countries’ economic and social development. Thus, education is a key pillar to development, since it enables to improve social, economic and cultural conditions.
  • • Increased coverage, the educational levels and quality are associated to the improvement of other key development and wellbeing factors, e.g. productivity, competitiveness, social mobility, poverty reduction, building citizenship and social identity, i.e. ultimately reinforcing social cohesion. Education, public or private, as well as professional training, and in-company apprenticeships and professional training play a major role in allowing youths to enter the labour market and develop as adults.
  • • Since their design phase, educational policies’ should have a more ambitious approach to establishing a liaison with the private sector, overcoming ideological and other biases, so as to ensure that youth acquire the skills to supply the future labour market needs. In this sense, learning systems should grow further and respond to the development of the new professions required by constantly evolving business needs.
  • • The Global Apprenticeships Network (GAN) should be highlighted as a successful example of the enterprises, employers’ and international organisations alliance to promote and share the best practices in apprenticeship programmes. The Latin American and Caribbean countries that host domestic chapters the Network are Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and, momentarily, Costa Rica. The rest of the countries should hasten to join this initiative in order to live up to the challenge.

To that end, the following is needed:

    1. A new approach to education and learning so that pre-school and school education set the necessary foundations and equip children with the cognitive skills required, i.e. reading, writing, logical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills as well as STEM literacy, to model and utilise digital technologies, adapt to technological change and develop abilities leading to innovation and problem solving.
    2. Vocational education and training institutions (VET) as well as higher education institutes that consider labour market needs while meeting their mandate to provide long-term, general and specialised quality education to prevent the distortion of competencies. To that end, learning systems should develop new competencies, VET institutions should be equipped with updated educational tools, and social partners should play a key role in building, developing and managing those systems. The B20-L20 mutual understanding on the key elements to quality learning, the G20 competencies’ structure, and its initiative to train apprentices, play a substantial role in streamlining training systems.
    3. Policies to promote lifelong learning. Bearing in mind the fast evolution of technology in the digital economy, enterprises should be urged to offer male and female workers lifelong learning and on-the-job training opportunities to equip them with updated knowledge and competencies. Also, to encourage workers to take responsibility for their training and skills acquisition, reflecting the potential individual benefits.
  • Employers and trade unions’ contribution to promote and invest in VET initiatives, even establishing and funding specialised technical schools, promoting the education of girls and young adolescents in mathematics and sciences and other educational proposals through teachers’ training or local educational campaigns.
  • • Likewise, the promotion of youths’ entrepreneurial initiative and self-employment is essential to not only look for jobs once they graduate from school, but also to create them.
  • • Not all youth will work for an employer. Some will become the next generation of employers and job creators, and will be employers on their own right. Some of the new sectors, products and services which have been more successful along the last century were created through youths initiatives, and global development and current technological progress rely on creativity, efforts and the thrive of young people successfully turned into jobs and self-employment. In many economies, self-employment is not an opportunity or an option but a need. Youths excluded from employment have to explore job opportunities and income they can generate by themselves, which has to be recognised and the right support offered. Even when self-employment is not a commitment along their careers, entrepreneurial initiative and self-employment are likely to offer youths skills and expertise to enhance their long-term employability
  • • Entrepreneurship is precisely one of the key variables of economic growth and its social value should be acknowledged. The lack of specific competencies, the difficulty in entering markets and get funding, and complex and costly regulations may prevent youths’ undertakings from materialising or turn into informal employment.
  • • Thus, governments should adopt the right measures and policies to promote the conditions required for innovative, thriving and sustainable undertakings.
  • • In order to attain said goal, it is mandatory to better train youths in the competencies and skills needed to innovate, to nurture a forward-thinking spirit throughout their education, and guarantee access to funding, innovation and inter-sectoral coordination
  • • It is essential to promote policies to foster the evolution of digital economy and provide connectivity services; the conditions to incorporate and develop companies, including SMEs, encourage “mentoring” –especially to include young women- apprenticeship contracts, creation and access to networks, participation in companies’ supply chains, create information desks for entrepreneurs, lower costs through specific credit lines, tax exemptions, shorten the procedures to incorporate companies, simplify the processes to protect the know-how, promote business incubators, funding attendance to national and international fairs and exhibitions; and favour as well various employment modalities and different incentives for new enterprises to hire the largest possible number of youths.
  • • Youth employment cannot be created through legislation and Governments cannot force employers to invest. Business creates jobs, produces most of the goods and services needed to improve the standard of living and contributes to fund public services through taxes, therefore being one of the strongest drivers of economic growth.
  • • For all the above mentioned reasons, Governments should thrive to create the right investment conditions, and analyse current actions and policies to ascertain whether they promote or prevent investment. This should be done through permanent dialogue with employers’ organisations.
  • • Governments end employers’ organisations should jointly design and implement the public policies required to foster youth employment, quality education, entrepreneurship and the investment environment needed to materialise the Sustainable Development Goals and substantially reduce the proportion of youths not in employment, education or training (Target 8.6).

POSSIBLE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE LAC EMPLOYERS’ SECTOR

  • To draft this proposal, the employers’ representatives’ opinions in the interviews with this consultant were taken into account; considering that they are essential to elaborate a document reflecting the position of entrepreneurs who work on a daily basis with these issues and face the challenges they involve.
  • • Beyond the differences existing between the countries of the LAC region, they all agree when approaching these topics.
  • • In line with the above, and having read the existing literature on the subject, and the initiatives on good practices produced in the region, the conclusion may be drawn that the elimination of child labour is extremely relevant to the sector.
  • • Without ignoring that the activities of the formal employers’ sector must abide to national and international laws that define the minimum age for admission to employment, and cannot be based on the exploitation of minors under any circumstance.
  • • Also, illegal practices affect companies’ and countries’ reputation alike, discouraging investment and negatively affecting the country image, perpetuating poverty and preventing opportunities from arising.
  • • The employers’ sector fully agrees that children should devote to studying, which requires parents to get sufficient income to meet the family’s basic needs; public policies should therefore exist to facilitate access to education, offer employment opportunities and better jobs to parents thanks to the growth of the country’s economy.
  • • Although the employers’ sector considers that work needs to be done on prevention, and most understand that formal businesses do not hire child labour, the statistics show that there are 11.5 million minors working in LAC.
  • • This will affect companies’ human resources in the medium- and long-term and prevent youth from getting instruction and training or quality education to become citizens, future partners and entrepreneurs, in a growingly complex and technological world.
  • • Several concrete proposals may be mentioned on the role of the LAC employers’ sector and the actions it could put in place to contribute to definitively eliminate Child Labour and Forced Labour which can be summarised as follows:
    1. Spread among employers’ organisations and companies the campaign to eradicate child labour, and coordinate joint actions with administrative or governmental leaders to that end;
    2. Hold events with employers’ organisations members showing the negative effects of such practice;
    3. Train on abidance by the pertaining legislation, and share with members and private sector companies;
    4. Foster labour policies and business management systems to monitor that no children or minors under the minimum age for admission to employment are hired, and duly protect adolescent workers;
    5. Monitor educational coverage at national level and become its promoter/auditor and spokesman;
    6. Propose, promote and execute preventive actions in the communities;
    7. Large companies –and trade unions- with formality present may sensitise contractors and the supply chains on not hiring child labour; SMEs should also commit. Counselling should also be provided while sensitising the supply chain.
    8. Take an active role in public policy making to eradicate child labour and get all sectors to commit.
    9. Reinforce companies’ networks against child labour.
    10. Input to bills and regulations reflecting the reality.
    11. Create awareness about the importance of prevention.
    12. Guarantee that workers’ children attend school, make an impact on our partners and the community where we run our businesses.
    13. Promover que los hijos de los trabajadores de las empresas asistan a la escuela o reciban una educación adecuada, generar un impacto en nuestros colaboradores y en la comunidad donde se desarrollan nuestros negocios.
    The employers’ sector identifies the following as elements of concern:

    1. The burden of a social and cultural matrix that considers child labour is necessary, a part of daily life;
    2. The absence of the State, which does not reach many places, with no institutions available;
    3. The lack of opportunities in remote locations, and the presence of armed groups further stresses the isolation. Social peace-making is therefore relevant, since it creates major opportunities.
  • Approaching informality in this field is central for the LAC employers’ sector. Informality accounts for a large part of our countries’ economy and is associated to social vulnerability. The lack of guaranties in the realm of social security leads to the worst forms of child labour as seen by the employers’ sector. In LAC there are at least 130 million people working in the informal economy, i.e. 47.7% of the workers.
  • • Among the factors contributing to accelerate the eradication of child labour and forced labour are the following:
    1. Rigorous law enforcement in worst forms of child labour cases, even resorting to criminal legislation, if applicable;
    2. Attracting investments in the areas where social and economic situations are detected that force children to work, especially by offering jobs to the parents so that children do not have to work;
    3. Encourage and strengthen public-private alliances:
    4. Clear definition of the meaning of child labour, and the ages authorised by the Ministry of Labour;
    5. Training in the public and private spheres and training municipal agencies.
  • • Whereas the barriers identified by the employers’ sector are, as previously mentioned:
    1. Labour market and economic activity informality, higher in rural areas;
    2. Obsolete cultural patterns in relation to recognising the rights of children and adolescents;
    3. Structural poverty and the lack of decent work opportunities –according to the latest ECLAT projections this affects 30% of the inhabitants of the region- and the problem of remote areas;
    4. Lack of articulation between entities working without effective coordination;
  • Regional mechanisms, tools and actions exist, but the employers’ sector insists that work needs to be done to move forward in meeting the goal to eradicate child labour and forced labour and create youth employment, with different approaches for each topic.
  • • Eradication of child labour, especially its prevention, should be approached individually and prioritised in such manner in order to make progress.
  • • In the cases of youth employment and forced labour, actions are broader, it could even be said that such actions relate to a country’s general employment policy.
  • • Education is one of the most powerful tools to prevent child labour; eliminate forced labour and promote quality youth employment.
  • • Networks like REDUCA and its members, in each country, are one of the best regional mechanisms to introduce in schools a focus on education, measures and educational quality proposals, teaching hours, budget quality and information technology and Internet access.
  • • Governments’ monitoring that no child labour is employed should be included in their procurement policies, and social programs should also control that no child labour exists.
  • • The employers’ sector considers the Prediction model as an interesting alternative, as it can generate indicators through geolocation, which allows for joint efforts on the basis of a specific risk map. It is a magnifier that amplifies situations in specific locations. It uses the country statistics, and combines and provides tools in towns where child labour is detected. It identifies the most crucial areas, and helps lower rates. The employers’ sector however contends that dissemination is still required to understand and implement the model.
  • • It also emphasizes that the model has not been used for purposes other than those for which it was developed, e.g. to compare countries, or as a tool used by international trade to define tariff barriers. Its true objective –reinforcing efforts to eradicate child labour- should not be distorted.
  • • The employers’ sector’s Best Practices Virtual Platform is already operational and should be reinforced.
  • • It is extremely necessary to strengthen the work done with the media; disseminate –through innovative ideas- trying to achieve a multiplier effect by creating awareness through audio-visual means.
  • • Finally, and getting into youth employment, we should not forget formal vocational education, always an avenue to train children at school and facilitate their future access to the labour market.
  • • The employers’ sector visualises the labour market-educational sector coordination, as follows:
    1. Promoting alliances between Ministries of Education and/or schools so that the curriculum, mainly in rural areas, responds to their production needs –i.e. the concrete labour market demands;
    2. Implementing articulation, counselling, innovation and promotion strategies, and focusing on sustainable enterprises. Coordination between governments and employers’ organisations should focus not only on identifying technical needs, but also on the social skills required;
    3. Establishing a direct relationship between Government and Employers’ Sector in apprenticeship programmes, and apprenticeship contracts to introduce youths in the labour market.
  • A lot still needs to be done with regards to the promotion and creation of quality youth employment. Public policies and incentives are lacking, as well as investment in training youths for their first job.
  • • The traditional trained human resources scheme versus the first job programme should be left behind.
  • • A central element identified by employers is that no “mentoring” tradition exists in Latin America. The new and intermediate generations are not given opportunities to move up since the older generations do not leave their managerial positions. This leadership crisis should be overcome, since it prevents the training of new groups of leaders or the growth of middle managers.
  • • The tools and incentives the sector should contribute to the creation of youth employment are the same as those needed to create general jobs. A better business environment fosters hiring, just like a more flexible labour market does without affecting essential rights, and encouraging productive investment.
  • • In order to improve the educational quality/productivity ratio, the employers’ sector found some areas for improvement:
    1. Draft regulations to incorporate “trainees” into the social security system framework to support their occupational integration under the right protection, while being economically viable for employers;
    2. Optimise information systems on human capital, relevance; counselling students, national bilingualism plans, quality in vocational training – prioritising tertiary education.
    3. Foster mentoring in SMEs, the existence of business mentors and enterprises in charge of women.
  • As final conclusions, the employers’ sector considers that the LAC regional initiative to eliminate child labour may be an engine to drive new social dialogue related to effective policy implementation, and considers it positive, as long as the focus remains on the eradication of child labour, with an essentially preventative approach.
  • • This will call for a more in-depth social dialogue on its implementation and better understanding. The experiences of their regions, work on codes of conduct, the Exchange of best practices and sensitising Governments will be of utmost importance in the short-term, if progress is expected in actions associated to Target 8.7.
  • • The central purpose of the IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour to be held in Argentina in November 2017 should be child labour and its eradication as well as related issues. Forced labour affecting children and the creation of youth employment might also be approached but without shifting the focus from child labour.
  • • The employers’ sector agrees that forced labour affecting adults is a especially relevant topic which has links to the worst forms of child labour, but it highlights that other scenarios and entities should approach those.
  • • Setting priorities with regards to these issues, and proposals for solutions and tools is key to overcome inaction in the eradication of child labour, and to approach future challenges. Sustainable development and Target 8.7 may be the right framework to that end.