Work Proposal Empowering Youth: How can the UN Lead the Way Forward? ILO WORKING GROUP

Transcription

1 52 nd Graduate Study Programme: Work Proposal Empowering Youth: How can the UN Lead the Way Forward? ILO WORKING GROUP Bringing together policy-makers and implementers with private sector actors to develop education and training programmes that respond to labour market requirements Monitoring by Rosas Gianni and Marie-France Boucher Joseph Thiyagarajan, Armada Marion, Cabeza Bego, Della Torre Ramon, Diagne Mariame Ciry, Kanga Kevin 11/07/2014

2 52 nd Graduate Study Programme: Work Proposal Empowering Youth: How can the UN Lead the Way Forward? Thematic Window: Youth, Employment and Education Lead Office: ILO Participating Agencies: UNESCO, UNDP, UNFPA Participating Government Agencies: 1. Government as Ministry of Education, Labor and Finance; 2. NGOs; 3. University & Professional and Technical Schools; 4. Unions: Labor, Representative of the main private sectors, 5. AGEPE (Agence d Etudes et de Promotion de l Emploi) ; 6. FDFP (Fonds de Développement de la Formation Professionnelle), 7. FNS (Fonds National de la Solidarité), 8. AGEFOP (Agence pour la Formation Professionnelle) Dates : Three years ( ) Region of Intervention : West Africa: Côte d Ivoire Budget : $ CONTEXT: The world is facing a grave employment challenge. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 397 million employed individuals were living in extreme poverty in 2011 they had jobs but were still surviving on less than US$ 1.25 a day per person (ILO, 2013). Informal and precarious employment, where workers face a high degree of uncertainty and lack basic social protections, remain structural features of labour markets worldwide. Moreover, these statistics do not reflect the situation of the nearly 200 million people who were jobless in Page 1 of 11

3 Paramount to ILO today, as stated by Juan Samovia, one of the previous ILO Directors General, is the promotion of access of men and women to decent employment conditions, which guaranty freedom, equity and human dignity. Young people are facing an unprecedented jobs crisis: over 74 million are unemployed worldwide and a further 228 million are irregularly employed, thus working under poor conditions. This issue strikes more youth, where one out of two is either under employed or unemployed. Ivory Coast is one of the many countries facing this issue despite from the mid of last century, for about forty consecutive years Ivory Coast was a leading economy of West Africa, contributing to 40% of West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU) GDP. With a population of about 23 Million in 2013, out of which 25% is represented by young people aged between years old and 64% by youth between15-35 years old, the population of Ivory Coast is mostly made of youth. The main indicators of the labor market shows that youth aged between counts for 13,8% of the unemployed population, while youth aged between 15 to 35 counts for about 12,2%. Since 1990s Ivory Coast faces political instability culminated with the recent postelection crisis. This precarious situation heavily impaired youth employment opportunities. Consequently the recent 2011 crisis was directly the cause of massive layoffs amounting to about 120,000 jobs loss. Medium/small local businesses shut down and multinationals enterprises relocated abroad. In terms of international labor standards, Ivory Coast ratified 34 International Labour Conventions. Out of those, eight are ILO ones. Notably Ivory Coast signed three out of the four fundamentals ILO conventions. Therefore for Ivory Coast it is a national priority to tackle the problem of youth unemployment. Strategy: The project looks at the options that are available for job creation on a large enough scale to reduce unemployment significantly in an impoverished country as Ivory Coast. It identifies four major strategies that can be adopted and examines particular features of each strategy. Page 2 of 11

4 This programme is divided into four strategies of action: 1) Facilitate the transition from School to work 2) Enhance the entrepreneurship of younger people 3) Encourage the recruitment of younger population 4) Inclusion of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. Overall the project shall spell out the constructive and developmental role that different stakeholders can play in liaising industrial restructuring and skills development. Technical assistance based on successful programme experienced worldwide will be provided to support local focal project leaders to implement successfully the project guidelines at local level. Objectives : 1) Build the capacity of young people to become entrepreneurs a. Include and prioritize the entrepreneurial knowledge in school and college curricula b. Generate awareness about procedures and legislation of self employment c. Creation of funds and special programmes initiated by the private and/or public sector and benefits of tax exemptions 2) Create a mechanism to fill the gap between demand and supply in the labor market by adopting curricula and training a. Create a platform to foster dialogue with representatives of private and educational organisations b. Increase the number of apprenticeship, internship and professionalizing project 3) Give incentives for firms to recruit more young people a. Increase awareness amongst firms and facilitate the hiring of young people. b. Provide tax benefits and simplify the contractual legislation for recruiting young people Page 3 of 11

5 4) Mainstream marginalized and vulnerable young individuals a. Bring the NEET individuals back to education/ training /employment streams b. Create a special mechanism for young persons with disability, HIV positive through affirmative action. Main target: The prime purpose of the project is aiming at skilling youth according to labour market requirements, therefore it is necessitated a multilayered approach to bringing together various actors of development. The project will be carried out in collaboration with Education and Labour Ministry of respective government, Non-governmental organizations and academic institutions such as schools, technical institutions, professional bodies, and universities. It also includes representatives from the most relevant private sectors. The location of the project is Ivory Coast in West Africa which is under developed. It borders Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. 1) PROGRAMME ONE: Programme in Brief: Promote Entrepreneurship at school for all education levels: Promoting entrepreneurship is a very important value that must be considered in the levels of education, so that young people can understand more of its importance. They must learn how to develop a business project. The core objective of this awareness is mainly for young people to know that they have the ability to create their own business and thus their own income, with a goal to have a decent work both for them and the others they can hire in their businesses. For this programme, different activities can be suggested: a. Integrate entrepreneurship in school curricula since secondary school and basic entrepreneurial programmes for illiterate people. Page 4 of 11

6 Governments should include entrepreneurship as an integral subject in school, academic systems and learning notions for those who have never been at school. b. Venture capital: promote more entrepreneurial competition with start up funds Competitions can be organized periodically and funding of projects or positions in companies, will be the reward. This will boost young people to develop projects of excellence in the spirit of competition. c. The creation of the Small and Medium Enterprises A special fund could be set up for young people having projects, as a microcredit to enable them to succeed in their goals. Provide young people with information through hotline / social media services about procedures and basic legislation regarding the creation of a company. Also, the government could simplify procedures for starting a business as well as legislation and reduce taxes for young people so that they are more motivated to engage in entrepreneurship. 2) PROGRAMME TWO: Programme in Brief: Transition from school to work Setting up institutionalized and legitimized for a, intended as a board where all stakeholders discuss and update employment policies which satisfy employers requirements. The aim is to enable youth with the skills and technical know-how employers demand, thus to be immediately employable for entry level positions and being able to justify claims to a decent salary. a) Issues assessment involving of all possible stakeholders Works shop framed and organized by specialized and accredited facilitators shall bring together NGOs and civil society adequately representing schools, training institutions and academia as well as youth representatives. Those talks shall contribute to identify the issues to be addressed to policymakers stemming out of the increasing youth unemployment. Page 5 of 11

7 b) Organisation of high panel conferences involving governments and employers representatives organized with the aim to settle a publicprivate partnership (PPP). After brainstorming with the inputs received from the public the conference shall present in an organized fashion the framework within which solutions to the issues identified has to be put forward and reflected in a legislative reform. Namely vocational skills training and active employment policies shall be enacted, so that young people can access labor mediation, counseling, employability, entrepreneurship and occupational skills training, thus empowering young people towards economic and social mobility. c) Foster the creation of a think tank liaising employers expectations to educational institutions Setting up a permanent think tank to link policy makers involved in setting up study curricula with employers to avoid new gaps between schools/universities on one side and private sectors on the other. d) Promote decent internship and alternance a. Promote changes in legislation to establish minimum conditions to be met in all internship programmes, such as: tolerable schedules, adequate tasks, proper guidance and assessment from tutors, monetary compensations at least to cover basic expenses etc. b. Include internship periods in curricula so that all students finish their education with some experience in their field of study. c. Alternances consist of fieldwork, as part of a partnership between the apprentice, a health public or private training (a CFA, a university or a school), and a host company are developed in parallel to the pursuance of degree. e) Promote different kind of work experience at School a. The Tutored project consists of a group of students which work for a company or organization. It is a mission framed by a double tutoring: a business mentor and university tutor. It will be for the group to solve for a specific problem with a public or private company. Page 6 of 11

8 3) PROGRAMME THREE: Programme in Brief: It is important for the government to establish an annual national repository that lists relevant skills which will be recorded according to the fields (general and specific skills) and in accordance with the requirements of businesses. a. Create a national repository / database of qualified professionals This repertory is a database, a practical tool for both job seekers and business owners, to enable them to have a broad-based choice profile of their future employees. b. Creating employment opportunities for young people through the distribution of jobs and skills. c. Sensitize the government and representatives of private partners to create jobs in accordance with the skill sets and amount of new pool of workers. 4) PROGRAMME FOUR Programme in Brief: The programme has the aim to address some of the most vulnerable groups in society: young individuals not engaged either on labour or educational activities, stigmatized individuals (such as the persons with disability, HIV positive and sexual minority), and women bearing disadvantageous situations at work derived from gender inequality. This programme will develop a double approach to the mentioned issues, trying, on the one hand, to foster legislation flexibilization and, on the other hand, raising awareness in society of such relevant and controversial topics. a. Out of the System Individuals NEETS Education programmes to reattach to the system those out of both the educational and the labour structures, providing them with basic skills useful for relevant sectors in the domestic economy such as hand-made articles, tourism or skills related to the main agricultural crops (coffee, cacao and others). Page 7 of 11

9 Inclusion of basic notions about Human Rights (also labour rights), peace culture, environment and development issues in elementary levels of education. b. Stigmatised Individuals (HIV & DISABLED) Communication campaign to make these groups visible highlighting their strengths, normalizing their situation and promoting their acceptance in society. Favour changes in legislation that provide firms with incentives to hire individuals from these groups, such as setting minimum % of workers over the total belonging to these groups or tax benefits. c. Gender Equality Favour changes in legislation to reach gender equality in the labour environment. Boost the presence of women in top managerial positions through affirmative actions such as setting minimum %, not just in the private sector, but also especially in the government bodies. Promote the presence of women in traditionally male occupations through formation and training at the educational level and also in the labour market. 5) Outputs and Achievements i. Significant improvement in number of young entrepreneurs ii. Enhanced collaboration and dialogue with private and public partners in terms of employment generation and periodical curricula updating in order to reduce the gap between education and labour market iii. Increased number of policies favouring young people recruitment iv. Improved and enhanced the inclusion of vulnerable groups in the education and labour structures v. Awareness and development of the young people s capacities and their potential vi. Motivation for young people to produce viable projects with the objective of the excellence in the spirit of competition Page 8 of 11

10 6) Detailed Budget of the Project N Activities Direct Cost Item # Duration (3Years) Period Unit Cost BUDGET FCFA Total Cost BUDGET in Euros 1 Exchange Rate Project coordinators (talks organizers) months Project leader 1 36 months Accountant (outsourced to group 2- free service agreement) 1 36 months Human resources Sub-total Operating Expenses 2.1 Laptops 2 1 n/a Projector 1 1 n/a Mobile phone + contracts 10 1 n/a Office leasing 1 3 yearly Operating Expenses Sub Total Field activities / capacity building 3.1 Quarterly review meeting activities 12 3 Quarterly Field activities / capacity building Sub Total Planning / Monitoring and Evaluation 4.1 Staff participation in meetings, seminars and continuing education 12 3 yearly Sub Total (Planning / Monitoring and Evaluation) Others Operating Costs 5.1 Communication costs in the office (Fixed Telephone, Fax, Internet) 1 36 Monthly Office consumables 1 36 Monthly Subtotal (Others Operational Cost) Total Project Cost Page 9 of 11

11 7) Timeline Programme Promote Entrepreneurship at school for all education levels Duration of the implementation Achievement of the objective Renewable every year Transition from school to work Renewable every year Create a national repository / database of qualified professionals Programme addressed to the vulnerable groups Renewable every year Long term objective ************************************* Page 10 of 11