Learning to earning for displaced youth: Unlocking the power of digital technologies
English
International organizations
Information is gathered from other international organizations that promote skills development and the transition from education and training to work. The Interagency Group on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (IAG-TVET) was established in 2009 to share research findings, coordinate joint research endeavours, and improve collaboration among organizations working at the international and national levels.
Other topic
Youth employability
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.
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.
The rising number of forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and the growing duration of displacement have made building economic resilience a priority, particularly for young people. By 2019, the global population of FDPs had doubled to 80 million. The majority of FDPs (86 per cent) live in low- or middle-income countries where host communities are themselves affected by food insecurity, malnutrition and weak labour markets.
Youth comprise a significant share of the forcibly displaced population. Half of all refugees are aged under 18, with young adults aged 18–24 constituting another 13 per cent of the total. In addition, there are nearly 10 million internally displaced persons between the ages of 15 and 24 full of hope but lack opportunities to realize their potential.
Technology is playing a growing role to provide education, training and employment, including in humanitarian and migration responses. By driving a shift to online work and training on an unprecedented scale, albeit not universally, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated the use of digital technologies in programmes that support school-to-work transition, including solutions focused on youth who are FDPs, in host communities, or are otherwise vulnerable.
This report, funded in part by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands’ PROSPECTS partnership, provides an overview of how digital technologies are being used to support youth’s transition from school to work, ‘learning to earning’, in displaced and host communities. Based on a rapid analysis of emerging approaches and lessons in this burgeoning space, the report’s purpose is to inspire concerted attention and action to ensure effectiveness and scale of such digital enablers.