Vulnerable youth: Employment and job training programs

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Document

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Governments hold a wealth of knowledge on skills development, and are increasingly realizing the value of learning from each others’ experiences. Their policy documents, programme evaluations, and research findings contain their experience and ideas on how to better link skills to employment

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skpGov

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governments

Topics:

Training quality and relevance

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skpTrainQR

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training-quality-and-relevance

Youth employability

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Globally, nearly 68 million young women and men are looking for and available for work, and an estimated 123 million young people are working but living in poverty. The number who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) stands at 267 million, a majority of whom are young women. Significantly, young people are three times as likely as adults (25 years and older) to be unemployed.

Skills development is a primary means of enabling young people to make a smooth transition to work. A comprehensive approach is required to integrate young women and men in the labour market, including relevant and quality skills training, labour market information, career guidance and employment services, recognition of prior learning, incorporating entrepreneurship with training and effective skills forecasting. Improved basic education and core work skills are particularly important to enable youth to engage in lifelong learning as well as transition to the labour market.

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skpYoEmp

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youth-employability

Knowledge Products:

Research papers

Working papers, reports, and other publications from international organizations, academic institutions and bilateral agencies. Research findings to stimulate informed debate on skills, employment and productivity issues.

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skpRPS

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research-papers

Publication Date:

23 Mar 2016

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wcmstest4_169056.pdf

In an increasingly competitive economy, and with retirement starting for the Baby Boomer generation, the Congress of the US has indicated a strong interest in ensuring that today’s young people have the educational attainment and employment experience necessary to become highly skilled workers, contributing taxpayers, and successful participants in civic life. Challenges in the economy and among vulnerable youth populations, however, have heightened concern among policymakers that many young people may not be prepared to fill these roles.

Within that context, this report provides an overview of federal employment programs for vulnerable young people. It begins with a discussion of the current challenges in preparing all youth today for the workforce. The report then provides a chronology of job training and employment programs for at-risk youth that began in the 1930s and were expanded or modified from the 1960s through the 1990s. It goes on to discuss the four youth programs authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and draws comparisons between these programs. Following this section is a detailed discussion of each of the programs.

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