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THIRD ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Effect to be given to the resolution concerning
youth employment, adopted by the Conference
at its 86th Session (1998)

1. Members of the Committee are referred to the document submitted to it at the Governing Body's 273rd Session (November 1998) on this subject,⁽¹⁾  which for lack of time was not discussed at that session.

2. Since then the detailed comparative report mentioned in paragraph 5 of that paper, concerning national policies and experience based on the results of the Action Programme on Youth Unemployment during the 1996-97 biennium, entitled "Youth unemployment and employment policy in a global perspective" has been completed and will be available shortly. The report addresses issues relevant to paragraph 1 of the resolution, and emphasizes that the failure of many countries to integrate young people into quality employment is a cause for concern. Youth unemployment is not a transitional phenomenon. Prolonged spells of unemployment in early adult life are likely to have consequences throughout the rest of people's lives. Unemployment among the young is also closely related to crime, drug abuse and social unrest.

3. According to the report, a strategy to combat youth unemployment must include policies aimed at both the demand and supply side of economies, as youth unemployment is first and foremost caused by inadequate aggregate demand. Moreover, it was found that the relative wages of young people had practically no effect on levels of youth employment: the evidence does not support the introduction of sub-minimum wages or the exclusion of young workers from wage regulations.

4. Policies to promote youth employment also need to be carefully targeted specifically towards young people in categories whose likelihood of unemployment is particularly high, and must be well integrated with each other and with educational policies. Workers' and employers' organizations should be involved in both the design and implementation of youth employment policies.

5. As regards conclusion 2(e)(iii), which concerns information services on youth employment, the ILO has recently launched a new Internet website on issues related to youth employment. It is located in the site of the Employment and Training Department on the ILO site⁽²⁾  and provides information on Office activities and links to other sources concerning data and the policy debate.

Geneva, 15 February 1999.

Resolution concerning youth employment

The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,

Noting the terms of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142),

Noting that the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in March 1995 reaffirmed, inter alia, the ILO's leadership role in the promotion of full, freely chosen and productive employment,

Reaffirming the importance and relevance of ILO standards for the successful promotion of youth employment and the need to ensure that young workers fully enjoy the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining and protection against forced labour and discrimination, as defined in the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and any other form of discrimination covered by national law and practice,

Recalling the ILO's action programmes on youth unemployment,

Noting the difficulties caused for many countries by structural adjustment programmes for economic growth and their potential to provide education, training and employment opportunities for young people,

Noting that employment opportunities for young people are often part time, casual, temporary and insecure,

Aware that in many countries young people, particularly between the ages of 15 and 24, are finding it increasingly difficult to enter the labour market and that this constitutes not only a threat to social peace but also an obstacle to the development of the individual and to that of society as a whole,

Recognizing that youth unemployment is one dimension of the general and widespread problem of unemployment and underemployment and a reflection of an unfavourable economic situation which cannot be resolved without a global increase in economic growth and employment,

Recognizing for every country the importance of ready access to education and training for young people,

Considering that the creation of sustainable employment opportunities depends upon governments, involving the social partners as appropriate, creating the right conditions for a competitive and viable private sector, an efficient and effective public sector and active labour market policies,

Recognizing that social progress and economic growth should go hand in hand and that globalization, such as international trade and foreign direct investment has the potential to create high quality jobs and training opportunities for young people,

Considering that employment cannot be directly created by legislation or regulations alone and considering that they are necessary to provide employment protection, particularly for young people,

Considering further that education, be it public or private, as well as vocational training and apprenticeships, play an important role in enabling young people to enter the labour market and embark upon their adult life;

1. Calls upon member States and, where appropriate, employers, workers and their respective organizations to:

(a) implement a balanced economic growth strategy;

(b) consider new and innovative policies and programmes to create employment opportunities for young people;

(c) increase investment in basic education targeted at improving the quality of education and access to further and higher education for disadvantaged categories of young people;

(d) take measures with the aim that, when young people leave school, they possess a general education and a balanced range of qualifications and skills which would enable them to realize their full potential and contribute to the well-being of society and the needs of the economy and enterprises;

(e) take measures with the goal that vocational training and counselling are adapted to the requirements of the labour market in order to facilitate the transition of young people from school into work and the acquisition of the generic and transferable skills required as a basis for employment and lifelong learning;

(f) encourage greater participation by employers, workers and their respective organizations in:

(i) determining the programme and content of education and vocational training;
(ii) the implementation of such programmes;
(iii) the design, monitoring and assessment of systems to recognize qualifications and skills;
(iv) fostering closer cooperation with education providers;

(g) promote and support a policy on youth that recognizes the role of education and youth organizations in developing a sense of social responsibility, initiative and cooperation;

(h) promote flexible working arrangements so that young people can avail themselves of on- and off-the-job education and training opportunities in the context of agreed workplace arrangements;

(i) identify the obstacles to hiring young people and take measures, as far as possible and desirable, to remove them while maintaining the individual's employment protection;

(j) develop a legislative and administrative framework which provides young people with employment protection;

(k) encourage enterprises to play an active role in the provision of continuous training to young employees;

(l) encourage young people and enterprises to develop more flexible attitudes towards the acquisition of new skills to meet changing needs;

(m) urge employment agencies, public and private, to assist young people more efficiently in finding employment;

(n) promote enterprise, entrepreneurship and self-employment among young people and the creation and viability of small and medium-sized enterprises as one of the major sources of employment opportunities for young people;

(o) adopt and implement policies which improve competitiveness through investment, including investment in technology, human resources development, education and skills, in order to promote economic growth, social development and employment;

(p) increase development assistance and technical cooperation for the poorer countries in order to provide education and training for young people.

2. Calls on the Governing Body of the International Labour Office to:

(a) accord high priority to youth employment when considering the Programme and Budget for 2000-01 and subsequent biennia commensurate with the importance of the issue;

(b) consider including, as soon as possible, an item for general discussion on the issue of youth employment in the agenda of the International Labour Conference;

(c) ensure that the issue of youth employment be included in discussions at regional or subregional level meetings, including tripartite meetings, where appropriate;

(d) ensure that ILO regional structures and multidisciplinary teams assist governments and the social partners to implement ILO policy on youth employment;

(e) instruct the Director-General, when preparing programme and budget proposals, to make provision for follow-up of the present action programme on strategies to combat youth marginalization and unemployment with a view to:

(i) drawing up an international strategy for youth employment;
(ii) creating a database on youth employment;
(iii) disseminating best practice information and research on employment initiatives for youth;

(f) instruct the Director-General to cooperate with other international bodies to promote international action on youth employment.

1. GB.273/ESP/7.

2. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/60empfor/index.htm