The gender gap in neither employed nor in education or training (NEET) rate is much higher in countries like Bangladesh, according to a new report released by International Labour Organization (ILO).
The report titled Global Employment Trends for Youth 2020 (GET youth 2020) showed that some 47 per cent of young women in Bangladesh are NEET compared to 10 per cent of young men.
It said the incidence of working poverty among youths has continued to decline. There are still around 55 million young workers who are not earning enough to lift themselves and their families out of extreme poverty (BDT 170 a day).
According to the report, the youth unemployment rate in Asia and the Pacific region has risen since 2012 and is estimated at 14.1 per cent in 2020, compared to 13.7 per cent globally.
Young people aged between 15 and 24 years who are employed also face a greater risk than older workers of losing their jobs because of automation, and those with vocational training are particularly vulnerable, the report showed.
It called for vocational training programmes to be revised and modernized so that they meet the changing demands of the digital economy.
The latest data showed that most young workers in Asia and the Pacific are in informal jobs, with 86.3 per cent of the young population in informal employment compared to 67.1 per cent for the adult population.
"Not enough decent jobs are being created for these young people, meaning the potential of millions is not being properly tapped," said Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh.
"ILO has been working with the government for over a decade with the development partners European Union and the government of Canada to ensure that young people get access to best opportunities, best training and best skills," he said.
He said they have currently been supporting the government in transforming several TVET institutes into Model TVET institutes to enable students meeting challenges posed by technology, climate change, inequality and demographics.
"These model institutes will also partner with employers' organisations to offer careers guidance and job placement services to all trainees," the ILO country director said.
"The report shows that those who do complete tertiary education are less likely to find their jobs replaced by automation," he said.
However, they face other issues because the rapid rise in the number of young people with a degree in the labour force has outpaced the demand for graduate labour, pushing down graduate wages, according to him.
The report also said the youths continue to face a number of obstacles in accessing decent and productive jobs as the sluggish global economy, trade tensions and recent COVID-19 epidemic are weighing on economic activity in the region.
