Q&A: On the recently launched ILO Toolkit for Quality Apprenticeships and how it helps to promote a path to stable employment for young people
Q&A: On the recently launched ILO Toolkit for Quality Apprenticeships and how it helps to promote a path to stable employment for young people
The International Labour Organization is the tripartite U.N. agency that promotes Decent Work through employment, social security, labour standards and social dialogue. Its work on skills development is guided by the conceptual framework on Skills to improve productivity, employment growth, and development agreed in 2008 by representatives of Governments, Employers’ Associations and Workers’ Associations. Research, policy advice, and pilot projects and technical cooperation programmes to apply good practices in different circumstances across its 185 member States aims to boost the employability of workers, the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises, and the inclusiveness of economic growth. The ILO Secretariat in offices in 40 countries works with Ministries of Labour, employers’ organizations, and trade unions to integrate skills development into national and sector development strategies in order to better meet current labour market needs and to prepare for the jobs of the future; to expand access to employment-related training so that youth, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are better able to acquire skills and secure productive and decent work; and to improve the ability of public employment services to provide career guidance, maintain labour exchange services, and deliver active labour market programmes.For more information regarding the ILO’s work on skills and employability go to: http://www.ilo.org/skills/lang--en/index.htm; for ILO/Cinterfor's Knowledge Management Plarform, see: http://www.oitcinterfor.org
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.
Presentations, discussion papers, meeting reports, promotional materials, videos, fact sheets, brochures and newsletters on skills development for employment.
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In this article, ILO’s Ashwani Aggarwal, Senior Skills Specialist, highlights some of the advantages offered by Quality Apprenticeships, including how they can augment the employability of young jobseekers and increase the access of employers to a talent pool that has the relevant skills they need. Aggarwal also provides background information on the ILO Toolkit for Quality Apprenticeships - Vol. 1 Guide for Policy Makers, a resource guide to improve the design and implementation of apprenticeship systems and programmes.
Q: Why focus on apprenticeships?
The global youth unemployment rate has risen to a global average of more than 13 per cent in the decade since the global financial crisis began in 2007, with some countries and regions significantly harder hit than others. Moreover, young people are over-represented among the unemployed, accounting for more than 35 per cent of unemployed people globally, despite representing just over 15 per cent of the world’s labour force.
Policy-makers have been searching for responses to these negative employment impacts of the crisis. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, policy-makers at the national, regional and global levels are rediscovering, or discovering for the first time – whether at the national, regional or global level – the importance of Quality Apprenticeships. Quality Apprenticeship systems contribute to matching skills in demand in the labour market with skills acquired in education and training systems, enabling young people to transition from the world of learning to the world of work. What is more, they play a key role in enhancing youth employability through personal development and a recognized qualification. They also offer a real opportunity to experience the world of work and to start the process of building a career. Equally important, quality apprenticeships provide a system that supports skills development and the hope of better employment prospects, today and in the future.
Q: What exactly is meant by Quality Apprenticeships?
Apprenticeships come in different forms in different countries, depending on national traditions and practices. The ILO has been involved in numerous initiatives to support apprenticeship training and has promoted the concept of a Quality Apprenticeship system to emphasize the quality and relevance of training to the labour market. Such a system has the following key features:
Quality Apprenticeships are a unique form of technical vocational education and training, combining on-the-job training and off-the-job learning that enable learners from all walks of life to acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies required to carry out a specific occupation......
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