PANEL - DECENT WORK FOR YOUTH: BUILDING OUR PRESENT DAY, GUARANTEEING OUR FUTURE

72. This panel was chaired by Mr. Oliver Flax, Chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago National Training Agency. He prefaced the session by placing technical training in its historical context in Trinidad and Tobago, making special reference to the role played by the oil and energy industries in providing technical training for that industry. The current role and achievements of the NTA were mentioned in the context of current challenges in the Caribbean, not so much for decent work - thanks to the effectiveness of the region’s Trade Union movement- but to the need for support for the region’s Government in their drive for more work, especially for young people.

73. Mr. Pekka Aro, Director of the ILO In Focus Programme on skills, knowledge and employability, first of all showed his concern over the unemployment situation currently affecting youth. ILO data show that there are an estimated sixty-six million unemployed youth in the world, representing 41% of all unemployed people. Under these conditions, he stated, education and vocational training are necessary, not only as a way of reducing unemployment, but also as a tool for social and economic development. Specifically regarding the access by youth to job markets, and how appropriate vocational training may contribute to their adaptation to the rapid changes taking place in the world of work, as well as the reduction of gender discrimination and to the reduction or eradication of the so-called "digital gap".

74. This speaker finished his presentation with an allusion to the Youth Employment Network, established by the UN Secretary-General, in a joint effort with the World Bank and ILO. Among the recommendations that these organisations have made to the Network, some stand out, such as the one on employability, which proposes that countries should revise their educational systems and vocational training, as well as their labour policies, in a manner that will make it easier for youth to find a place in the work markets, particularly those who are more vulnerable to unemployment for reasons of race, religion, disability or gender. More precisely, those recommendations are aimed at acknowledging the central role played by educational goals, at making primary education available to everyone, at guaranteeing universal access to vocational training as a basic right and at supporting decent work, among others.

75. Mr. Sergio Mindlin, President of the Brazilian Fundación Telefónica, began by informing that both the Group and the Foundation are currently seeking solutions for the problems faced by youth, to the point that they are participating in the High-Level Network constituted by the United Nations, the World Bank and the ILO. He explained that the Telephone Foundation operates in the same countries that the company does. It is actually a number of national foundations that work together with the companies that belong to the Group. The Foundation’s main mission is doublefold: first, with the community, it improves the quality of life of the underprivileged; second, with the businesses, it seeks to help them fulfill their social responsibilities. The basic strategy consists of trying to bring together business skills and social projects, supporting the projects' management in order to increase their efficiency. He added that the most of the foundation's actions are aimed at children and youth.

76. Referring specifically to Brazil, he pointed out that the Foundation has decided to work with the mediation of the Children's Rights Councils, which were created in 1990 and comprised of representatives of public power, business and civil society organisations. These councils are responsible for formulating the policies for assistance to children in the states. The Telephone Foundation has been working along three lines of work: financing initiatives for the good use of and incorporation of information and communications technology into social projects; supporting projects that deal with the problem of juvenile delinquents, with aims at helping them to gain access to the work market; and training the members of the Children's Rights Councils.

77. With regard to youth and decent work, he stated that decent work for youths respects the condition of their being young, such as the condition of being in the process of growing up, with all the potential that this implies and also with all the limitations; second, decent work for youths means that it respects legal principles such as those established in the Children's and Adolescents' Statute, and in international covenants. He ended his speech with information on the educational and labour situation of Brazilian youth, highlighting the need for inclusion policies in a context of shared responsibility between the public powers, businesses and society.

78. Ms. Ruth Cardoso, President of the Comunidade Solidária do Brasil (Brazilian Solidarity Community), expressed her satisfaction at being able to share experiences and knowledge in this forum on a subject that is so significant for all of the region's countries, the labour situation of the youth. The problem of employment is very important, not only because overall unemployment levels rise, but also because this leads to a string deterrent to their social integration. She added that aggregated statistics reveal very diverse situations between countries and between regions of one country, and this is especially significant and determining in a country the size of Brazil, with such diversity as Brazil displays. Therefore, she considers it is extremely important to view this issue through a prism of disaggregated, in-depth analyses that will make it possible to know and unveil these situations in order to be able to face them with specific measures and methodologies that are appropriate under the current conditions. Mrs. Cardoso’s thesis is that in general a more disaggregated point of view is needed and that one of the greatest challenges is to take advantage of the experience and contributions of international organisations, such as ILO, to guide local and regional adaptations and improvements.

79. The first consideration has to do with the necessary link between juvenile unemployment and the crisis of the production system. Juvenile unemployment is a function of overall unemployment but possesses its own dimensions. To acknowledge this does not mean that it must be accepted as an irreversible phenomenon nor that specific policies and interventions are not necessary, but it does require a realistic stance and the identification of effective opportunities for the access of youths to the markets.

80. A second analysis attracts our attention to the demographic fluxes that strongly influence the labour market. Brazil, for instance, is now at the end of a period that was called "onda jovem" (young way of being), which means that the young component of the population is decreasing on the whole, but this is not uniform nor does it apply to all regions. On the contrary; there are periods in which the proportions between age groups change in a way that makes lots of jobs available to this group.

81. In this context, the most complex and important issues are those of training adequateness, conception and contents of vocational training. This is a problem that deserves our attention and that requires our ability to innovate – we must understand what employability means today. Citizens must be capable of analysing things today, and must know the value of the choices available, in order to be able to choose responsibly. They must be able to face new types of problems with a clear vision of how to blend in with their environment and be active. Social policies must be aimed at eliminating exclusion and creating conditions for individuals to become active participants. This will not eliminate poverty, but it will be the first step in combating exclusion. It will require ‘ 1 changing our ideas about what training means. Our current model comes from the process of industrialization, and thus professional improvement was conceived as a form of specialisation. Now, however, what is required is to train people so that they will have skills and abilities that will not limit their creativity – people who are flexible and motivated, and this is basic if we want to offer employability.

82. According to this speaker, such an effort cannot be restricted to the responsibility of public policy-makers but must also include the civil society organisations. Thus, the innovative model of alliances between the state and society is the most effective form of intervention currently available to us. Such an association is effective because it brings into play the experience and knowledge of the business sector and makes possible a cost-benefit analysis, so that quality is maintained in a cost-efficient manner.

83. Mrs. Cardoso shared her experiences about the Comunidad Solidária, which she considers to be a positive example for the model under discussion. Considering the issue of youth employment as an urgent problem that requires different types of solutions that must not demand long periods of time spent on training, the idea was to focus on each group individually and to seek the participation and collaboration of civil society. The program was launched in 1996 and has since undergone a never-ending growth process. All sectors of civil society participate and projects are chosen by means of a system of public tender which defines in a very transparent manner the rules and criteria for budget distribution. This gives the NGOs autonomy and the possibility to present creative innovations and to come up with new employment ideas, according to the requirements of each area and population. Mrs. Cardoso gave a few examples of successful results arrived at by NGOs, which prove – she said – that this type of alliance is not only possible, but also very good for progress in this new idea of training. This new idea, she says, strays from the centuries-old educational structure of long periods of classroom studies, and instead co-ordinates quick training with effectiveness in terms of access to the labour market, the final goal being to offer youth the possibility of becoming participating and creative citizens. This is the basic goal and it is this that effectively changes the lives of youth. The speaker underscored as the most important indicator of the success of this type of program the fact that 50% of the youth that participated in the program went back to school.

84. Mrs. Cardoso ended by inviting the audience to renew their view on the meaning of qualification and employability today, and to take into account that these require good sociability, flexibility in order to face new situations and develop personal creativity. The ultimate goal of such programs, she said, must be to integrate youth into society, which would not be possible without obtaining self-confidence and a hopeful outlook on their future.

 

Final report in pdf format

 

 

 

 

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