STATE OF THE FIELD IN YOUTH ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Annexes
2012 State of the Field in Youth Economic Opportunities
The e4e project also reported low and declining expectations of the labor market to provide well-paid
employment. The report called for major investments by private sector training providers to supplement
(failing) public systems in the Arab world. 15
United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID)
DFID released practical guidance for workforce development program design and implementation in the
form of a Guidance Note focused on Engaging the Private Sector in Skills Development. 16 This note is a fairly
extensive review of skill development practice, also addressing questions of policy and system/institutional
reform. The authors caution against hasty commitments to develop National Qualifications Frameworks due to
high resource costs, and provide a checklist of workforce development activities that may be useful in different
development contexts.
1.4 Lessons Learned
The workforce development discussion at Making Cents’ 2011 Conference highlighted the diversity of
workforce development-related programs, policies, and tools. In contrast to the previous year’s conference,
where a number of important questions, trends, challenges, and opportunities were raised, the 2011 workforce
development learning track focused on specific tools for developing and implementing effective programs.
Presentations were selected to reflect the field’s broadened client base and emphasized training, labor market
facilitation, and other active labor market policies, strategies for partnership, and modes of understanding youth
opportunities in labor markets in relation to the economy as a whole, the evolution of specific industry sectors,
and global institutions and standards.
As a result, key lessons learned fell into two general categories: (1) program content and design, focusing on
hard and soft skills content, and (2) program delivery strategies, focusing on partnerships and delivery strategy
for success, scale, and sustainability. In addition, a number of presentations emphasized the cross-cutting theme
of technology, which implementers are using to enable and facilitate more complex, targeted, and scaled
interventions. (These areas capture progress on a number of key issues defined in the 2010 GYEOC).
1.4.1 Program Content and Design
Conference presenters continued to highlight the problem that young job seekers continue to lack (relevant)
technical skills, workplace experience, career navigation skills, and (some) basic soft/interpersonal skills.
This issue of inadequate preparation and “skills mismatch” has become a near-consensus, and was highlighted in
research by ManpowerGroup Inc., the McGraw Hill Foundation, Kelly IFC/IsDB, and numerous other reports
and studies this year. In summarizing the current situation, ManpowerGroup’s 17 assessment of the situation is
bleak.
The world stands on the brink of a global employability crisis—an over-supply of available
workers and an under-supply of qualified talent. Faced with the most acute talent shortage
since 2007—before the start of the world’s first global recession—one in three employers
worldwide confirm that they cannot find the talent they need to fill key vacancies within
Chapter 1: Workforce Development
15 For more information, please see the “Support for Youth Economic Opportunity in the MENA” region chapter, pages 144-146.
16 Engaging the Private Sector in Skills Development¸ Guidance Note/A DFID practice paper, DfID, Muriel Dunbar, March 2011. Internet Retrieval:
www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/eng-priv-sect-skills-dvmt.pdf
17 ManpowerGroup is a $22 billion global employment services company present in over 80 countries.
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