High NEET (not in employment, education, or training) rates in some countries and persistence gender disparities and the rise of non-standard employment/short–term contracts that require policy attention are the main youth employment challenges in G20 economies mentioned at the G20 Employment Working Group (EWG) meeting held today, 18 th February 2025 in the Boardwalk Hotel, Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
Focusing on priority one of government which looks at Inclusive Growth and Youth Employment, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) tabled the Joint Paper on Fostering Youth Transition to Decent Work stating that youth employment is improving in some areas but remains fragile.
Mr Stephane Carcillo of ILO and OECD stated the key insights on gender gaps and youth inactivity in the labour market.
“Young women face higher exclusion due to caregiving responsibilities and most female NEETs are not actively looking for jobs”, said Carcillo citing that the outcome is often linked to social norms and childcare barriers.
Gender Gaps and Youth Inactivity in the Labour market emphasizes the difference between women and men NEET rate (percentage points) reflecting India the highest in bridging the gap at 33.4%, South Africa at 5.2% and Italy being the least at -1.2%. Looking at percentage difference among women; share of inactive NEETs among all NEETs (percent) India is at 94% and South Africa at 52%.
Proposal submitted by Ms. Susana Puerto Gonzalez of ILO and OECD comprises of, bridging the gap between education and unemployment by; providing learner orientation and career guidance; addressing and mitigating early leaving from education and training; promoting entrepreneurship as a career path throughout the education system; and promoting apprenticeship and vocational education.
ILO also proposes that there should be scaling up of effective employment policies for decent jobs for youth and strengthening policy coordination and investment with a focus on job creation.
“Active Labour Market Programmes can improve employment and earnings of young people by integrating soft skills training for employability, provision of certification for better job matching, having longer durations for youth programmes, combining intervention types to address multiple constraints of young people, establishing partnerships between public and private sectors and considering the need of young women that are categorized under low income, low educated youth and younger cohorts, 25 years and under”, said Gonzalez.
Professor Ronney Ncwadi from the Nelson Mandela University reflected that unemployment remains a major challenge to inclusive growth.
“When large segments of the population are unemployed or underemployed, economic benefits are not widely shared, leading to inequality and social challenges,” said Ncwadi in his presentation on Unemployment, Labour Market Dynamics and Inclusive Growth in South Africa
Inclusive Labour Market and Decent Jobs for rehabilitation/Persons with disabilities was shared by Compensation Fund and Supported Employment Enterprises, entities of the Department of Employment and Labour giving insight on services offered.
The technical meeting held under the theme: “Living and working in an unequal world: ensuring decent work and decent lives”, continues tomorrow with the focus on the 4 th priority of government.
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Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
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Issued by the Department of Employment and Labour