Session III: Improving transitions for youth to

further education, training and employment

Anil Verma, Ph.D.Professor

Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources &and

Rotman School of Management

University of Toronto

October 2015

Southeast Asia

• Youth make up about 19% of the region’s total population.

• Over 60% of the world’s youth live in Asia-Pacific. This translates into more than 750 million young women and men aged 15-24 years.

Progress

• Significant strides made in educational attainment. The region is on track to meet MDG 2 on universal primary education.

• Net enrolment in secondary education steadily increasing: now 64.1%, slightly above the world average of 62.5%.

Challenges Ahead

• Transition to the labour market remains a major challenge; youth unemployment more than double the rate of the total working age population.

• The proportion of adolescent and youth migrants in the total international migrant population is 19% in Southeast Asia, most of them are women.

Gender

• Gender inequalities have been reduced at all education levels, primary, secondary and tertiary, in most countries.

• Young women, however, are underrepresented in the labour market, and are an untapped resource for future economic growth.

From World Employment & Social Outlook, ILO, 2015

Southeast Asia: The Employment Picture and Challenges

• Unemployment is relatively low compared to some other regions of the world

• Recovery from the financial crisis of 2009 has been slow

• Youth unemployment is high relatively to the main labour force

9

10

11

for Youth: Southeast Asia

Demand for High Skills

Sup

ply

of H

igh

Ski

lls

Supply-side Approaches

Boost post-secondary enrollmentsIncentives for apprenticeshipsIncentives for trainingTarget key groups: youth, women,

minoritiesBridging programs

Role of Universities & Colleges

• Niagara College as an Exemplar– Programs pertinent to local industry:

viniculture, tourism & hospitality– Local labour market surveys– Internships– Research Projects– Contract research with industry

Not just supply, also demand..

First Theorem of the Skilled Jobs Economy

Role of Industry Networks (Non-profits)

Policy Proposal: Audit & Benchmarking for Educational & Training Institutions

• Periodic curriculum review– Self-study– External review

• Joint boards with industry• Local labour market surveys• Apprenticeships• Fast-track approval of new &

modified programs