Chapter 2. Progress towards the EFA goals - Unesco

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CHAPTER 2
Education for All Global Monitoring Report
Youth aged
15 to 24 make up
one-quarter
of the world’s
population
but almost half of
the unemployed
school years. People lacking these foundations
are not well placed to develop the type of flexible
problem-solving capabilities needed to underpin
more specialized learning. For countries where
much of the youth population either does not reach
secondary school or lacks basic literacy and
numeracy, technical and vocational education in
secondary school can only have limited success
as a national skills development strategy. It may
make little sense to rapidly scale up investment
in technical and vocational education in countries
enrolling only a small proportion of the secondary
school age group. Directing resources towards
improving access and the quality of education in
core subjects is likely to prove far more effective
and equitable (Lauglo and Maclean, 2005).
Youth unemployment reveals
the skills gap
The broad aim of technical and vocational
education is to equip young people and adults with
the skills and knowledge they need to cross the
bridge from school to work. The economic crisis
has made that crossing even more hazardous.
Young people who fail to make the transition often
face the prospect of long-term unemployment and
social marginalization, and run a higher risk of
being drawn into illicit activities (Adams, 2008;
Brewer, 2004).
While the picture varies by region, governments’
records in tackling youth unemployment over the
past decade have been disappointing. With global
unemployment rising sharply in 2009, the record
could deteriorate further as young people are hit
hardest by the job crisis.
Pre-crisis trends were not encouraging
Education and demographic trends, coupled
with rapid economic growth before the 2008
economic downturn, might have been expected
to reduce youth unemployment, with the average
number of years spent in school increasing and
the youth share in the working age population
declining in all regions, with the notable exception
of sub-Saharan Africa.
Instead, the International Labour Organization (ILO)
reported a 13% rise in youth unemployment, from
63 million in 1996 to 71 million in 2007. Labour
market demand is one factor behind this trend.
Economic growth has not generated employment
on the scale that might have been anticipated.
At the same time, rising youth unemployment
during a period of sustained economic expansion
points to a mismatch between skills acquired in
education and labour market demand. The
upshot is that young people bear the brunt of
unemployment. Before the crisis, the global youth
unemployment rate stood at 12%, or around three
times the adult unemployment rate (ILO, 2008a).
In every region, youth unemployment rates are
higher than those for older workers. Youth aged 15
to 24 make up one-quarter of the world’s
population but almost half of the unemployed.
Young people are now in the front line of the global
economic downturn. Recent estimates suggest that
world unemployment could be 39 million higher
by the end of 2009, compared with 2007, and that
youth unemployment may rise by between 5 million
and 17.7 million. The youth unemployment rate is
projected to increase from around 12% in 2008 to
between 14% and 15% in 2009 (CINTERFOR/ILO,
2009). Employers are more prone to dismiss young
workers – especially unskilled young women –
because youth tend to have the least secure
employment conditions and are often not covered
by labour regulations (CINTERFOR/ILO, 2009).
Youth unemployment patterns vary across the
developing regions (Figure 2.25). The ILO reports
that the Middle East and North Africa have the
highest unemployment rates, with about one-fifth
of 15- to 24-year-olds unemployed. In Egypt, youth
account for more than 60% of the unemployed.
Gender discrimination, both in terms of job
segmentation and wages, is deeply entrenched in
Arab States’ labour markets (Salehi-Isfahani and
Dhillon, 2008). In Egypt, fewer than one-quarter
of women aged 15 to 29 are economically active –
one-third the male rate. The transition from school
to work is also more difficult for girls, with fewer
than 25% of young women finding work within
five years (Assad and Barsoum, 2007). Employer
discrimination, early marriage and claims on the
labour of women at home all reinforce gender
disadvantage in labour markets.
Demography and poverty combine to leave sub-
Saharan Africa facing particularly stark challenges
in youth employment. The region’s share of the
world’s youth population, currently about 17%, will
be some 25% by 2025. Almost two-thirds of the
population is under 25. The transition from school
to work is enormously difficult for this growing
population. Every year between 7 million and
10 million young Africans enter labour markets
characterized by high unemployment, low
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