The world of work for today's youths is quite different from that experienced by their parents. On average, young people are now better educated than their previous generations. They are thus embarking upon a new world of work, often doing jobs that did not exist in the past. In addition, having grown up in an environment that is more open to technology, they are better placed than adults to reap opportunities arising from the current wave of technological innovations, and they can more easily adapt to new jobs and the digital world openings. Young workers enjoy the wide advantage in computer use compared to older workers, and evidence suggests that young workers are better equipped to solve problems in technology-rich environments than the older workers.
The ILO publication 'Global Employment Trends for Youth 2017: Paths to a better working future' provides an update on the key youth labour market indicators, trends and policies, focusing both on continuing labour market instability and on structural issues faced by young people across the world. It looks into the future of work for young women and men, in particular, the link between new automation and digital technologies and youth employment prospects. It also examines youth perceptions of the future based on the ILO's 'Youth and the Future of Work Survey'. The report begins with an overview of youth labour markets at the global and regional levels, with a focus on declining labour force participation, continuing unemployment among youths, concerns about the quality of jobs for youths, and implications for the changing demographic patterns. Between 1997 and 2017, the youth population grew by 139 million people, while the youth labour force shrank by 35 million people. This dynamic is also reflected in a declining youth proportion of the overall global labour force, from 21.7 per cent to 15.5 per cent. The youth labour force participation rates have deteriorated in the past 20 years from 55.0 per cent to 45.7 per cent. An estimated 70.9 million young people are unemployed globally in 2017. The latest data indicates that 76.7 per cent of the working youths are in informal jobs, compared with 57.9 per cent of working adults.
The next chapter outlines different youth pathways to the world of work and key factors determining transitions to decent work. Young people are more likely to transition to stable and satisfactory employment in developed and emerging economies than in developing countries. In countries with high youth unemployment rates, young people are less likely to leave their jobs voluntarily. In developing countries, young persons are more likely to settle definitively into self-employment. The longer a young person studies, the shorter the transition time into employment. On average, the school-to-work transition duration was 1.6 times longer for primary than secondary graduates, 1.7 times longer for secondary than tertiary graduates, and 2.6 times longer for primary than tertiary graduates. A work-study combination has substantially shortened the school-to-work transition period in all regions.
The Chapter 4 examines the future of work for young women and men, with emphasis on the link between new automation and digital technologies and youth employment prospects. It identifies growth sectors for youth employment and the changing skills requirements across and within industries. Compared to older workers, the younger ones are more comfortable with new technologies and likely to adapt faster to such technologies. The sectors identified as expanding sources of youth employment are: financial services; human health and social work activities; trade, hotels and restaurants; transport and storage and information and communications. However, skills demand is changing, with greater demand for high- and low-skilled workers, and less demand for semi-skilled workers. This trend towards job polarisation could be accentuated by new technology and can potentially exacerbate existing inequalities.
The Chapter 5 addresses the ongoing rearrangement of the job landscape, particularly new and emerging diverse forms of employment. It also examines youth perceptions about the future of work. The way in which young workers engage in the labour market is also changing, with a tilt towards less secure forms of work and while young people are ready to ride the wave of new technologies, they value stability and security in their working lives. Young people are twice as likely as adults to be in temporary employment. New forms of work like crowd working and the gig economy present opportunities because of their flexibility, but also dangers because of the lack of regulation.
The final chapter of the report highlights the paths needed to follow for ensuring a better working future for the young people. Realising the potential opportunities for youths in a technology-rich labour market requires clear strategies and policies along with global partnerships to ensure a better future for them. Technological changes will affect demand for skills, but will also provide opportunities to expand training to disadvantaged groups. New technology can be used to increase the young people's access to finance, as well as encourage green jobs and platform-based cooperatives that promote entrepreneurship. Strong social partnerships between governments, firms and workers' organisations should collaborate on dynamically identifying and developing relevant skills. Youth voices and youth aspirations must also be taken into consideration. Diverse employment forms must be reflected in new and updated mechanisms for ensuring young workers' rights.
The writer is an independent researcher.
