According to the new ILO report "Global Employment Trends for Youth 2020 - Technology and the future of jobs", the number of young people currently not in employment, education or training (NEET) is rising, and young women are more than twice as likely as their male counterparts to be affected.
Young people (those aged 15-24) 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 shows.
“This reflects how the occupation-specific skills imparted by vocational training tend to become obsolete faster… than general education skills,” the report says. It calls for vocational training programmes to be revised and modernized so that they meet the changing demands of the digital economy.
There are currently around 1.3 billion young people globally, of whom 267 million are classified as NEET. Two-thirds, or 181 million, of NEETs are young women.
“Too many young people around the world are becoming detached from education and the labour market, which can damage their long-term prospects, as well as ultimately undermine the social and economic development of their countries,” said Sangheon Lee, Director of the Employment Policy Department of the ILO. “But the reasons why they become NEET vary enormously. The challenge will be to balance the flexible approach needed to reach these young people with the strong policies and actions necessary to make an impact. A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach won’t work.”
The ILO report is available for download now.