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
own brands and designs. As a result, much can be anticipated about future skill demands by characterizing
these industries according to three factors: (1) current upgrading phase/stage, which relates to the level of
value-added of existing activities; (2) the upgrading “ambitions” of local businesses and entrepreneurs; and (3)
the expected pace of this upgrading. For global industries, this information can help implementers structure
their “market surveys” so that maximum information is gained, and so that employers see that implementers
understand their business, leading to more productive partnerships and better employment prospects for
clients.
Industries like tourism and offshore business services have less linear upgrading pathways, but the number
of possible upgrading directions is not infinite, and can be effectively understood using similar methods. This
means adding one additional area of inquiry regarding the direction of industry upgrading—towards what
new activities. Most developing countries today enter the offshore services industry through call/contact
centers, and there are only a few historically proven “next upgrading steps” into which industries can effectively
move, meaning that only a few skill sets could be required. The “next upgrading steps” in tourism tend to be
determined by local natural assets in addition to local workforce and entrepreneurial capacity, and are often
well coordinated by local/national tourism councils/authorities. Because industries do not upgrade overnight,
awareness of and early partnership with organized industry upgrading efforts should help implementers
anticipate future skills needs.
1.4.1.1 Practical Tips: Use O*Net for Information on Skill Requirements of
Current Jobs and Those That Do Not Yet Exist in the Local Labor Market.
A presentation on the Occupational Information
System “O*Net” by the U.S. Department of
Labor demonstrated a powerful resource for
understanding the world of work and defining
occupational competency requirements. Among
its vast array of features, the system provides
foundational, industry related, and occupation
related competency (knowledge, skill, and ability)
definitions for approximately 1000 occupations,
which are updated by surveying a broad range
of workers from each occupation, with no
occupational definition more than five years old.
O*Net can be used by businesses anywhere in the
world to define job requirements according to
global good practice, by international governments
and NGOs in establishing the occupational
definition basis for their own formal and informal
labor market information systems, and by
implementers in designing skill-based programs for
sectors that are not yet well-defined and discussing
skill requirements with local businesses.
(www.onetonline.org)
Chapter 1: Workforce Development
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Industry standards—from both global and local industries — can guide
curriculum development to ensure industry relevance and skill portability
for learners
Standards are requirements placed on businesses that determine how work is done and, ultimately, how
companies and countries participate in markets. An active debate among observers of globalization relates to
whether standards present insurmountable challenges for developing countries’ participation in global markets.
Regardless of the outcome of this debate, linking training content to international standards can create an
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