[TVET Pacific] FW: Active labour market policies for youth employment in Asia and the Pacific: Traditional approaches and innovative programmes (Prepared by NEI Labour and Education: Ruud Dorenbos, Deon Tanzer and Ilse Vossen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands , December 2001)

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> Active labour market policies for youth employment in Asia and the Pacific: Traditional approaches and innovative programmes (Prepared by NEI Labour and Education: Ruud Dorenbos, Deon Tanzer and Ilse Vossen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands , December 2001)
> Active labour market policies for youth employment in Asia and the Pacific: Traditional approaches and innovative programmes
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> Ruud Dorenbos
> Deon Tanzer
> Ilse Vossen
> NEI Labour and Education
> Rotterdam, January 2002
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> Prepared for ILO/Japan Tripartite Regional Meeting on Youth Employment in Asia and the Pacific
> Bangkok, 27 February - 1 March 2002
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> This is a working paper written to serve as a basis for discussion at ILO/Japan Tripartite Regional Meeting on Youth Employment in Asia and the Pacific. The views and opinions expressd in this paper are those of the author and do not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office or by tripartite constituents in Thailand. The paper has not been edited and should not be cited or distributed without consent from the author and the ILO. Please send comments and suggestions to ILO BAO/EASMAT at E-mail: teerasak@ilo.org.
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> Table of contents
> Page
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> Preface iv
> Executive summary v
> 1 Introduction 1
> 2 Issues at Stake 2
> 2.1 Introduction 2
> 2.2 Economy 2
> 2.3 Labour Markets 4
> 2.4 Youth on the labour market 7
> 2.5 Active Labour Market Programmes 11
> 2.6 ALMPs and youth employment 13
> 2.7 Evaluation results 16
> 2.8 Conclusions 19
> 3 Active Labour Market Policies for youth at national level 20
> 3.1 Introduction 20
> 3.2 Examples of ALMPs targeted at youth 20
> 3.3 Conclusions 38
> 4 Global, regional and national initiatives to promote youth employment 40
> 4.1 Introduction 40
> 4.2 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO> '> s) 40
> 4.3 Major Global and Regional Initiatives 42
> 4.4 Conclusions 47
> 5 Conclusions, implications and recommendations 49
> 5.1 Main conclusions 49
> 5.2 Implications and recommendations 50
> Literature 53
>
> Appendix 56
> Preface
> This is the final report in the International Labour Office (ILO) supported project, Active labour market policies for youth employment in Asia and the Pacific: Traditional approaches and innovative programmes, carried out under commission by the Netherlands Economic Institute (NEI). The objective of the project, as set out in the terms of reference, was:
>
> s To undertake secondary research:
> s National initiatives to promote youth employment
> s Major global and regional initiatives launched by international organizations
> s ILO initiatives
> s Examples of active international and regional youth NGOs
> s To produce a thematic report on Active labour market policies for youth employment in Asia and the Pacific: Traditional approaches and innovative programmes, containing a review of issues at hand, different approaches, best practices and lessons learned, and the way forward for policies and programmes that address youth employment in Asia and the Pacific.
>
> This final paper was written by Ruud Dorenbos, Deon Tanzer and Ilse Vossen. Marjolein Peters acted as supervisor. The paper has been guided by ILO specialists of the Bangkok Area Office (EASMAT) - Elizabeth Morris, Irene Yu and Teerasak Siriratanothai. We would like to express our gratitude to them for providing constructive suggestions and comments on the concept report.
> Executive summary
> Background
> Many economies of Asia and the Pacific have achieved rapid economic growth in the last two decades that have also led to an improvement of social conditions. This was briefly abated by the East Asian financial crisis that started in mid 1997. Of important note is that a great diversity in populations and stages of economic development exist amongst all the countries in the region. The initial effects of the financial crisis were in general negative > but the recovery of all countries varied. Some have managed to continue on a line of rapid growth, while many countries were confronted with increased unemployment and poverty rates. The labour market experienced a negative effect from the crisis, especially amongst the > '> Asian Tigers> '> , with rising unemployment rates and large drops in real wage growth.
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> The economic crisis in a number of Asian countries has had a large effect on youth employment, where under a number of circumstances they have been retrenched disproportionately. Data is insufficiently available to measure the differing relative and absolute increases in unemployment amongst youth, relative to the entire labour population. In general youth have difficulties entering the labour market due to a low productivity expectation of employers due to lack of perceived skills and experience. Youth unemployment also leads to a crisis of opportunities for young people.
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> There are a number of ALMP> '> s applicable to alleviating the youth employment problems. ALMPs for young people are in practice usually aimed at skill-upgrading and work experience in particular. Positive results have been measured from programmes aimed at mixing subsidised work experience with vocational training. In practice however many ALMP> '> s have failed to attain desired results or attained less than reasonable evaluations. Recommendations have been made to tailor ALMP> '> s with increased targeting, improved public and private sector coordination and extensive use of information.
>
> National ALMP> '> s
> In order to learn more about national initiatives to promote youth employment we have consulted national institutions, in particular Ministries of Labour and Social Policy. In total we contacted national institutions in 13 countries. After identifying contact persons we explained the aim of our research project and sent them a questionnaire. In this questionnaire we asked the contact persons to give us information on employment programmes targeted at youth, in particular the objectives of these programmes, partnering organisations and monitoring and evaluation results. We also asked them to send us information on an example of a programme they considered a best practice example. In total we received 9 responses (Australia, Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Singapore, Vietnam and New Zealand). Some of them filled in the questionnaire, others informed us in other ways about their programmes for youth. The contact persons in Cambodia and Singapore informed us that no ALMPs for youth employment have been implemented in their countries.
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> As short extraction of the most important details is presented here:
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> s Nepal
> No ALMP> '> s specifically geared towards youth employment. Generally youth self-employment and skills development programmes are applied. The impact of the youth employment programmes in Nepal is not considered satisfactorily, mainly because the programmes have been mostly supply driven.
> s Japan
> Programmes are geared towards facilitating graduates and longer-term youth unemployed into the workplace. Job consciousness awareness and public vocational training make up the balance of programmes implemented in Japan. No single programme was highlighted to serve as a best practice example. The strength of the programmes is that combined they reach the highest effectiveness.
> s Vietnam
> The Government is the most important actor in implementing youth ALMP> '> s. These are targeted at job and vocational training, facilitation services, financial assistance for young self-employed people and socio-economic programmes to create and monitor youth employment opportunities. One successful programme has been > '> Employment services for young people> '> . This programme is geared towards capacity building and employment facilitation, with the major limitations being finance, coverage and restricted cooperation with the private sector.>
> s Korea
> Youth employment is mostly supported through public works and subsidised placement in firms. Also subsidised vocational training takes place. One successful programme is the "Government-subsidised intern programme". The Ministry pays firms which hire youths as interns (for a minimum period of three months), and pays the amount for three additional months if the firms convert them as regular workers. The main purpose is to provide unemployed youths with jobs and vocational ability development opportunities.
> s New Zealand
> Various Government departments develop and manage youth employment programmes. Regulation has been set up to ensure that youth have access to case facilitation, experience and employability programmes, self-employment assistance, targeted work subsidies and training. Programmes are aimed to be broad set, having high coverage and targeted towards various groups. The experience has learnt to give recognition to the diversity of individual needs, a multi tiered approach and timely intervention.
> s China
> China employs tax cuts, regulations, training and facilitation as youth employment instruments, with the main focus being directed towards employability. Improvements in governmental and societal involvement, research, funding and training are seen as important measures that enhance youth employment programmes. Improving the quality of the potential labour supply and stricter entrance requirements have been advocated in one of the programmes.
> s Australia
> Australia has aimed at providing all encompassing programmes focussing on youth employment. Programmes are developed by all tiers of government, through various departments. Programmes are often implemented through the private sector, managed by the public sector and monitored and evaluated by third parties. Youth employment policy focuses on job-seeking assistance, skills and experience development, awareness programs and self-employment avocation. Targeting, case management and experience creation are seen as important aspects of various programmes.
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> NGO initiatives
> International NGO> '> s give advice and assistance to develop and promote youth activities at national and regional level, where the activities are eventually carried out by the national NGO> '> s. National NGO> '> s focus on activities such as seminars, research and programmes on youth affairs. On the issue of youth employment most organisations are involved in training for young people on several areas and at different levels. The objectives of these training programmes are very diverse: some programmes are aimed at the education of young people in rural areas, the participation of young women on the labour market or at youth leadership. Although many activities and initiatives have been developed and organised there is hardly information available regarding the impact of all these activities. Therefore, we conclude that NGO> '> s mainly serve as a forum for the exchange of information, experiences and ideas.
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> Global and regional initiatives
> UN Secretary-General> '> s High-Level Policy on Youth Employment is compiled by a panel of leaders and policy experts in the field of youth employment. The unifying theme of the high-level policy is bridging various gaps (gender, digital, wages, skills and capital intensiveness) for youth employment. The Fourth Session of the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System was held with the central purpose: the empowerment of youth to participate more effectively in every aspect of society that resulted in a number of recommendations.
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> As part of the strategy of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to reduce poverty in Asia and the Pacific, it has been involved in lending programmes that have resulted in several active labour market programmes for the youth. Additionally APEC is operating a forum for economic integration and sustained economic growth. Under these auspices it has set up a human resources development action programme, where youth issues are touched. A sub-committee of ASEAN is the ASEAN S> ub-Committee on Youth (ASY). ASY organises meetings, workshops and seminars to talk about youth topics.
>
> Implications
> In particular the lack of adequate monitoring and evaluation results imply that we have to be very careful in drawing conclusions. Nevertheless, we can mention some points on which we think we can be clear:
> s The Asian financial crisis has struck hard on the labour market. A lack of comprehensive data makes it difficult to seek specific problems associated with youth employment, and thus it is difficult to implement well-directed ALMP> '> s. ALMP> '> s are often insufficient instruments during economic crisis but are able to serve social objectives.
> s Many countries employing youth employment ALMP> '> s are still in an early phase of development.
> s Most countries have been utilizing employment services to better youth employment, because it is often seen as the first link in the ALMP chain.
> s Multiple partnerships, > '> varied menu> '> s> '> , combinations of programmes and comprehensive implementations are often viewed as preferred means of implementation.
>
> Recommended policy goals
> s Improving Labour Market Information Systems is a vital step that needs to be made through closing the informational gap with the informal sector, making use of technology and improving methodological considerations and relations between actors.
> s Public Employment Services (PES) are often an initial link that can act on the needs of clients. They can dually function as a link towards employee skills and perspective improvement, labour market (and programme) monitoring and providing comprehensive labour market analysis.
> s Involvement of social partners should enhance the effectiveness of PES, due to their > '> political> '> and managerial involvement. The integration of information exchange is implicit in this process.
> s Goals towards self-employment are an opportunity in rural and informal sector settings, and thus help abate rural-urban migration. Governments actively develop opportunities for self-employment through credit provision and advisory services, amongst others.
> s Monitoring and evaluation needs to be implemented thoroughly. This improves the information sourcing that leads to improve the effectiveness of programmes.
> s An integrated approach comprising of interlocking and correlated subsystems is desired, especially when economic growth is insufficient to create jobs.
> 1 Introduction
> In most countries of the world, the youth unemployment rate surpasses the rate of adult unemployment. It is estimated that around the world youth unemployment rates are three times as high as adult rates. Also in Asia and the Pacific, the situation of youth on the labour market is difficult. Youth unemployment has been a cause for concern in the past and it is likely that it will remain a cause for concern in the future. A large pool of unemployed among new graduates has already been generated in emerging countries such as Korea and recruitment of labour market entrants will remain low during further corporate restructuring. In some Pacific economies, there are up to seven times as many young people seeking work each year as there are new jobs available (Armstrong et al, 1999). As a response to these developments, numerous initiatives to promote employment amongst young people are being taken in these countries. Armstrong et al (1999) argue that labour market policies, especially those aimed at youth, are key among possible policy recipes for the Asian Pacific region.
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> This paper aims to provide an assessment of active labour market policies for youth in the Asia and Pacific region and derive lessons from past experiences and research for all actors involved. Major global, regional and national initiatives to promote youth employment will be assessed as well.
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> To this end the structure of this paper is as follows: in chapter 2 the situation on the labour markets in Asia and the Pacific will be described briefly. In this chapter we will also give a brief overview of d> ifferent types of ALMPs as well as its main pros and cons. Subsequently, attention will be paid to ALMPs for youth employment. Chapter 3 and 4 will form the core of this paper: in Chapter 3 examples of specific ALMPs for youth employment in Asia and the Pacific will be reviewed. These examples have been assembled after consulting national institutions (e.g. Ministries of Labour) in Asia and the Pacific. This chapter will also discuss some evaluation results of international experiences with ALMPs, most of them targeted on youth. In Chapter 4 a review will be given of major global and regional initiatives launched by international organisations as well as the work of international and regional youth NGOs. The main aim of this chapter is to identify initiatives and studies, other than ALMPs, that may be helpful for future directions to be taken on youth programmes in Asia and the Pacific. The fifth and final chapter summarises the main conclusions made in this paper. Based on the findings of Chapter 3 and 4 some policy recommendations for the countries in Asia and the Pacific will be made.
>
> This paper is based on an analysis of international studies, as well as:
> s National initiatives to promote youth employment.
> s Major global and regional initiatives launched by international organizations.
> s The work of international and regional youth NGOs.
>
> This analysis was carried out by means of desk research, including library searches, internet searches and written questionnaires with contact persons in the region.
> 1 2 Issues at Stake
> 2.1 Introduction
> Many economies of Asia and the Pacific have achieved rapid economic growth in the last two decades. According to Atinc and Walton (1998) the high growth rates also led to a spectacular improvement of social conditions. However, even within those economies that were called a success there were not uniform improvements in social conditions and some might even question whether the conditions improved as a whole. In mid 1997 the financial crisis in East Asia interrupted the long period of economic growth. In the countries of East and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand), this resulted in an enormous decrease in per capita GDP growth, an increase of the unemployment rate and a growing number of people living below the poverty level. The crisis had significant social costs. The reduction in the demand for labour was the most important channel through which the crisis had an impact on households. In general, younger, less-skilled and informal sector or casual workers were particularly vulnerable in all countries. It should be noted that, although the East Asian emerging market economies are often mentioned in one breath they are far from a homogeneous group. The countries in the Pacific have suffered less from the economic crisis in Asia, partly because their economies have a different structure.
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> 2.2 Economy
> One clear observation that needs to be made beforehand is that the countries under consideration are very diverse. For example, Indonesia is with 200 million people by far the largest country of the five whereas Malaysia has a population of less than 22 million. Also with regard to GDP per capita large differences can be found: Korea> '> s GDP is 8 to 9 times higher than the GDP per capita in Indonesia and the Philippines. Also the employment structure differs strongly: in Korea and Malaysia most workers are employed in the service sector whereas in Indonesia and the Philippines agricultural workers are in the majority. Another striking difference is that Indonesia and Thailand are highly rural, whereas Korea has more than 80% of the population living in cities (World Bank 1999). It is clear that with countries like China, Australia and Nepal the diversity between the countries under consideration will be even stronger. Table 2.1 illustrates this by showing the gross national income per capita for several countries. The income of people in Vietnam, Nepal and Cambodia is only a fraction of the income per cap> ita in countries like Australia, Japan and Singapore. The table also includes the five crisis countries and Japan. It is clear that the income per capita has suffered from the economic crisis in the East-Asian region.
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> The high growth rates that many countries in Asia and the Pacific have experienced the past decades has also led to a declining number of people living below subsistence level. Also other indicators of social development - life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, and literacy - improved. These achievements are even more spectacular when compared with social developments in other regions or developed countries during their industrialisation period (Atinc and Walton 1998).
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> Table 2.1 Gross national income per capita in thousands of USD.
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> Countries 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
> Australia 21.45 22.27 21.46 20.94 20.53
> Cambodia 0.28 0.28 0.26 0.26 0.26
> China 0.62 0.70 0.74 0.78 0.84
> India 0.41 0.42 0.42 0.44 0.46
> Indonesia 1.11 1.11 0.66 0.58 0.57
> Japan 41.28 38.35 32.55 32.03 34.21
> Korea, Rep. 11.36 11.39 8.50 8.48 8.91
> Malaysia 4.48 4.60 3.64 3.37 3.38
> Nepal 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22
> New Zealand 15.37 16.17 14.53 14.00 13.08
> Philippines 1.19 1.23 1.09 1.06 1.04
> Singapore 25.30 27.44 24.58 24.19 24.74
> Thailand 3.01 2.78 2.11 2.00 2.01
> Vietnam 0.29 0.34 0.35 0.37 0.39
>
> Source: World Development Indicators database (2001)
>
>
> Table 2.2 gives a closer look at the five countries that were hit hardest by the financial crisis. Table 2.2 shows the enormous decrease in per capita GDP growth, the increase of the unemployment rate and the growing number of people living below the poverty level. Indonesia is by far the country hit hardest. Initially it was thought that the crisis would involve a sharp contraction followed by a quick recovery. However, there were fears that the crisis would have a more prolonged period of contraction, and risks of a lengthy period of working through of structural, social and institutional problems. Nevertheless, three years after the onset of the crisis the economies are beginning to recover.
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> Table 2.2 Economic indicators: before and > '> after> '> the crises (selected countries hit hardest).
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> Per capita GDP growth Unemployment rate Poverty incidence
> 1990-1996 1998 1996 1998 1996 1998
> Indonesia 5.7 -14.4 4.9 5.5 11.3 16.7
> Korea 6.3 -6.6 2.0 6.8 9.6 19.2
> Malaysia 7.0 -9.3 2.5 3.2 8.2 n.a.
> Philippines 0.4 -2.6 8.6 10.1 37.5 n.a.
> Thailand 7.0 -10.8 1.8 4.5 11.4 12.9
>
> n.a.= not available
> Source: World Bank (1999).
>
>
> Most other countries in the region have seen a decrease in GDP growth, but have not experienced negative growth levels of GDP, with the exception of Japan (see Table 2.3). Although the economic crisis has a severe impact on several economies of the region, a mild recovery has occurred in 1999. For most Pacific Island countries, the drought associated with the El Niņo weather phenomenon was largely responsible for their poor economic performance.
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> Table 2.3 GDP growth (selected countries in the Asia and Pacific region).
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> GDP growth in %
> 1996 1998
> Vietnam 9 6
> Japan 5 -3
> Australia 4 5
> New Zealand 3 0
> China 10 8
> India 7 7
> Nepal 5 3
>
> Source: WDI (1999).
>
>
> The extent to which people have suffered differs not only between countries. Within each country the poor are suffering most. Unskilled workers in urban areas were among the first to be laid off. Furthermore, droughts have cut into the income of subsistence farmers in rural areas. Rising unemployment or movement into low-paid informal work, accompanied by price increases on basic commodities are cutting into families> '> purchasing power. Since the poor spend the greatest proportion of their income on basic commodities they are hit hardest.
>
>
> 2.3 Labour Markets
> Tables 2.4 and 2.5 display a number of key labour market indicators. Table 2.4 shows some indicators for the countries that have been hit hardest by the economic crisis. We show the situation - prior to the crisis - in 1996 and the situation in 1998 - just > '> after> '> the crisis. First of all, it can be observed that the unemployment rate increased in all countries between 1996 and 1998. For example, in Korea the unemployment rate increased from 2 percent in 1996 to 6.2 percent in 1998. The other countries also show an increase in unemployment though smaller in comparison. Although the unemployment rate increased in all countries the situation is not dramatic. Only in the Philippines the unemployment rate approaches a double-digit level.
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> It is striking that the inactivity rates and participation rates show only limited differences between all countries. The participation rates ranges between 60% and 67% whereas the inactivity rate ranges between 33% and 40%. In Korea and Malaysia the participation rate decreased by respectively 1.3 and 2.4 percentage points. Probably most dramatic are the changes in real wage growth: in Indonesia real wage growth was 6.6 percent in 1997 but two years later the real wages declined by 38 percent. Also in the other countries a decline in real wages was observed but less dramatic than in Indonesia. For example, in Thailand the decline in real wage amounted to 7.4 percent whereas in Malaysia the decline was relatively small, namely 1.1 percent. Summarising, the economic crisis did not have a dramatic impact on the unemployment rates, in none of the five countries reached the unemployment rate double-digit levels. Also the participation rates did not show a big decline. Of the indicators shown in table 2.4 most dramatic changes can be observed in the real wage levels.
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> Table 2.4 Key labour market indicators, 1996 - 1998.
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> Labour Force (millions) Unemployment rate Inactive population c) Participation rate d) Real wage growth (%)
> Indonesia a) 1996 88.2 4.9% 33% 67% 6.6
> 1998 92.7 5.4% 33% 67% -37.8
> Korea 1996 n.a. 2.0% 38.0% 62.0% 6.8
> 1998 n.a. 6.8% 39.3% 60.7% -5.7
> Malaysia 1996 8.6 2.6% 33.3% 66.7% 5.8
> 1998 9.0 4.0% 35.7% 64.3% -1.1
> Philippines 1996 30.3 7.8% n.a. n.a. 3.3
> 1998 31.1 8.4% 33.9% 66.1% -2.0
> Thailand b) 1996 31.9 2.0% 1.2 million n.a. 2.3
> 1998 32.1 4.6% 1.2 million 68.2 -7.4
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> a) In Indonesia, all persons from 15 years or older are included in the working age population and thereby in the participation rate.
> b) In Thailand, all persons from 13 years or older are included in the working age population.
> c) The inactive population includes all people in the working age that are either not working or not actively searching for work divided by the total number of people in the working age.
> d) The participation rate includes all people that are either working or searching for work divided by the total number of people in the working age.
> Source: WDI (1999) (Country specific reports).
>
>
> In other countries in the Asia and Pacific region, the effect of the economic crisis on the labour market is less noticeable. Table 2.5 shows unemployment rates for a number of countries. These are all based on national, i.e. not harmonised, data. It can be seen that the unemployment rates have risen (slightly) in most countries between 1996, the situation prior to the crisis, and 1998, the situation just > '> after> '> the crisis. The only exception is Sri Lanka. The table also shows that after 1998 the unemployment rates decreased considerably in Cambodia and Sri Lanka.
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> Table 2.5 Unemployment rate in selected countries.
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> 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
> China 2.90 3.00 3.10 3.10 3.10
> Cambodia 0.90 0.70 5.30 0.60 2.60
> Nepal 1.80
> Pakistan 5.40 5.40 6.10 5.90 5.90 5.90
> Singapore 2.70 3.00 2.40 3.20 4.60 4.40
> Sri Lanka 12.30 11.30 10.50 9.20 8.90 7.70
>
> Source: Asian Development Bank based on national figures.
>
>
> In considering the development of unemployment rates, the growth of the labour force is also an important aspect. Table 2.6 shows the development of the labour force in the past and present. Although most countries have experienced a growth of the labour market in the past 20 years, the growth for the coming 10 years will be less. In Japan the labour force is even expected to shrink. However, in countries that are characterised by high fertility rates, a country like Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines, the expectation is that the number of youth entering the labour force will increase sharply. The region> '> s overall labour force is projected to approximately double over the next 30 years (ESCAP 1998). Although GDP is still growing, the disturbing fact is that economic growth is not always accompanied by an expansion in employment opportunities.
> Table 2.6 Growth rate of the labour force, past and present.
>
> Labour force annual growth rate 1980-1999 Labour force annual growth rate 1999-2010
> Vietnam 2.3% 1.7%
> Japan 0.9% -0.3%
> Australia 1.9% 0.8%
> New Zealand 1.9% 0.7%
> China 1.7% 0.8%
> India 2.0% 1.9%
> Nepal 2.3% 2.5%
> Cambodia 2.7% 2.2%
> Korea 2.2% 1.1%
>
> Source: WDI (1999).
>
>
> 2.4 Youth on the labour market
> Definition
> The standard definition used by the United Nations (UN) of > '> youth> '> comprises young people aged from 15-24 years inclusive. Sometimes a further distinction is made between teenagers (16-19 years) and young adults (20-24), since the problems faced by these two groups are quite distinct. In practice, the operational definition of youth or young people varies widely from country top country, depending on cultural, institutional and political factors (O> '> Higgens 2001). Therefore, we will not strictly use the UN-definition since the reviewed research papers and data sources often use other definitions.
>
> Data
> Without reliable labour statistics and labour market indicators, it is difficult to describe labour market developments. Labour statistics and labour market indicators are essential tools for the formulation and implementation of policy measures. Appropriate statistics and indicators are extremely important because of the necessity of information and effective information systems. Although the situation differs from country to country few data are available on youth employment in the Asia and Pacific region. And even when data are available and reliable it is difficult to make comparisons since data sources often use other definitions. In the following we will present some figures, in particular unemployment rates, to give at least an indication of the seriousness of the situation of youth on the labour markets in Asia and the Pacific. It is obvious that this is far from a sufficient overview. A far more extensive analysis needs to be done to describe and examine the nature of youth unemployment from country to country. However, this falls outside the scope of this report.
>
> Unemployment rates
> Table 2.7 shows the unemployment rates by age groups before and after the crisis. For the five countries that were hit hardest by the financial crisis, the negative impact on the youth (15-24) unemployment rate can be clearly observed. For example, in Korea the youth unemployment rate among males (15-24) increased dramatically from 9,3% in 1995 to 20,8% in 1998. In Thailand the youth unemployment rate among males increased from 2,6% in 1995 to 11,1% in 1998. In both Korea and Thailand the youth unemployment rate for males is much higher than the youth unemployment rate for females. It is remarkable that in the Philippines the youth unemployment rate decreased between 1995 and 1998 whereas the overall unemployment rate increased.
>
> Although Table 2.7 clearly shows that the East-Asian crisis had a clear effect on youth unemployment rates there are more ways to look at unemployment. For example, Islam et al (2001) notice that in Indonesia the share of unemployed workers between 20 and 29 years in the total unemploy> ment pool decreased considerably, from 60.1 per cent in 1994 to 41.9 percent in 1998. The share of those ages 30 and above tripled, climbing from 11 to 30 per cent.
>
>
> Table 2.7 Unemployment rates by gender and age group before and after the crisis.
>
> Indonesia 96 Indonesia 98 Korea 95 Korea 98 Philippines 95 Philippines 98 Thailand 96 Thailand 98
> Male, total 4.0 5.5 2.3 7.7 7.0 9.5 1.0 4.3
> Male, 15-24 12.2 15.7 9.3 20.8 25.9 17.9 2.6 11.1
> Male, 35-54 1.0a) 2.3 a) 1.7 6.2 5.6 b) 5.2 b) 0.3 1.9
> Male, 50+ n.a. n.a. 0.9 5.4 7.6 b) 6.6 b) 0.4 2.5
> Female, Total 3.3 5.0 1.6 5.6 8.2 9.8 1.1 4.6
> Female, 15-24 15.0 19.1 6.0 12.8 33.9 22.1 2.3 8.6
> Female, 35-54 1.8 a) 2.3 a) 0.7 4.5 6.7 b) 4.5 b) 0.5 3.2
> Female, 50+ n.a. n.a. 0.3 2.4 6.9 b) 5.7 b) 0.8 2.7
>
> a. Age 25+ for Indonesia
> b. Age groups for Philippines are 35-54 and 55+
> Source: Horton and Mazumdar (1999).
>
>
> As mentioned before, few data are available on youth employment in the Asia and Pacific region. The data that we have suggest that a large part of the total number of unemployed in the countries under consideration consist of young people. For example, table 2.8 shows the unemployment rates for Hong Kong, Korea, Sri Lanka and Pakistan as well as their shares of youth unemployment to the youth population. The unemployment rates in Sri Lanka and Pakistan are very high, especially among women. The fact that 12.2 per cent of the total youth population (15-24 years) is unemployed indicates the seriousness of the situation in Sri Lanka.
>
>
> Table 2.8 Unemployment rates and share of youth unemployment to youth population (15-24 years)
>
> Male Female Share of youth unemployed to youth population
> Hong Kong, China 1997 5.6 4.4 2.5
> Korea, rep. Of 1997 9.4 6.6 2.6
> Sri Lanka 1995 20.2 31.2 12.2
> Pakistan 1995 7.6 18.1 3.5
>
> Source: ILO (KILM).
>
>
> Summarising, the crisis had a serious impact on youth unemployment rates. However, it is hard to say whether youth (15-24 years) have been hit harder by the crisis than other age groups. For example, in Korea the overall unemployment rate increased from 2,3% in 1995 to 7,7% in 1998, that is an increase by a factor 3,4 or 5,4 percentage points. The youth unemployment rate among males increased from 9,3% in 1995 to 20,8% in 1998, that is an increase by a factor 2,2 or 11,5 percentage points.
>
> Causes and consequences of youth unemployment
> According to O> '> Higgins (2001) the causes of youth unemployment can be analysed at different levels and considered in terms of the following questions:
> s What are the main determinants of fluctuations in youth unemployment?
> s Why do youth unemployment rates vary more, in absolute terms, than adult rates in response to changes in economic conditions?
> s For individuals, which characteristics increase or reduce the chances of finding employment?
>
> As for the latter, unemployment is not evenly spread among young people. There are three groups of young people that seem, under no differing circumstances, most at risk: those with low levels of educational attainment, the disabled and ethnic minorities. Also young women face additional difficulties in gaining access to high-quality employment.
>
> The first two questions can be examined by looking at the relative importance of three factors (O> '> Higgins 2001):
> s Aggregate Demand.
> s Youth Wages.
> s Size of the Youth Labour Force.
>
> Aggregate demand affects youth unemployment in a similar way in which it affects the overall level of unemployment. A fall in aggregate demand will lead to a fall in the demand for labour in general and consequently for young labour as well as adult workers.
>
> Wages are likely to have a negative impact on youth employment in as much as, the higher are the relative wages of youth with respect to those of adults the more incentives there are to employ adults as opposed to youths. This argument relies on the assumption tha> t adult workers are perfect, or at least close, substitutes for their younger counterparts. In many cases this may not be true, particularly as regards skilled workers. However, if youths and adults are complementary in the workplace the wages of youths with respect to adults should have no influence. In such a scenario, both youth wages and adult wages with respect to other input costs will have a negative effect. Thus, although wages play a role, higher youth wages will tend to lower the employment rates of both adults and young people (O> '> Higgins 1997).
>
> It is obvious that the size of the youth labour force is an important explanatory factor for youth unemployment. The greater the number of young people on the labour market, the more jobs that will be required to accommodate them. It is interesting to examine how big an affect does the size of the youth population have on youth unemployment. Korenman and Neumark (1996) showed that, based on an analysis in 15 OECD countries, that an increase in the relative size of the youth population of 10% will raise the youth unemployment by around 5% O> '> Higgins (1997).
>
> In addition to factors that create general unemployment, in particular falling demand for labour, there are several factors that are specific causes of youth unemployment (ESCAP 1998):
> s A mismatch between the education and skill levels of young entrants to the labour market and the requirements of employers. In a number of developing countries the dropout rate from primary and secondary education is high. This leads to an unskilled workforce that does not meet the requirements of prevailing technology.
> s Relatively high minimum wage levels, particularly in developed countries and in the pacific sub-region, which discourage employers from hiring young new labour market entrants.
> s Discrimination against youth in recruitment because employers value experience, proven skills and seniority.
>
> An econometric study conducted by Blanchflower (1999) indicated that high youth wages, high minimum wages, industry/technology/trade, increased female participation, trade unions and the low quality of young workers had no significant negative impact on youth unemployment. Macro economic factors such as aggregate demand, unemployment benefits, oil prices and mobility were more determining. This study was, however, difficult to apply to developing countries, because of the large bias of OECD data in the study. Most developing countries lack sufficient data, especially concerning the informal sector (where a large number of youth are active). For this reason a pressing need has arisen to develop data. Improvements in data will create possibilities for trends to be monitored, whereby specific causes and effects can be analysed.
>
> Youth unemployment also leads to a crisis of opportunities for young people. The consequence of being unemployed is that young people can not acquire the minimum means for accommodation and housing necessary for setting up families and for participating in society. Moreover, unemployment creates a wide range of social ills, including the lack of skill development, low self-esteem, marginalisation, impoverishment and the wasting of enormous human resources.
>
>
> 2.5 Active Labour Market Programmes
> The previous sections have dealt briefly with the situation of youth on the labour market. The question is whether, under these circumstances, active labour market programmes (ALMPs) for youth are most appropriate? To answer this question we will first give an overview of the main ALMPs as they are used in most countries, and their main pros and cons. Subsequently, we briefly discuss some features of ALMPs specifically targeted on youth. Finally, in section 2.4.3 we deal with the question whether active labour market programmes (ALMPs) for youth are required.>
>
> Types of Active Labour Market Programmes
> Active labour market policies (ALMPs) are commonly divided into four categories:
> s Training programmes.
> s Job subsidies.
> s Direct job creation (public works).
> s Job search assistance/counselling.
>
> The main pros and con of each category are summarised in the following table:
>
> Table 2.9 The main pros and cons of active labour market programmes.
> Policy measure Possible pros Possible cons
> Labour market training s Increases productivity of labour force. s Helps especially when economy is improving. s Mixed results. s Danger of creaming (training programmes are taken by participants with the best labour market prospects). s Danger of bad targeting. s Job search intensity may be reduced during participation. s Relatively costly.
> Job subsidies s May activate people who otherwise never start looking for a job. s Enterprise subsidies boost entrepreneurial spirit. s Act as an alternative of unemployment benefits. s May lead to permanent employment. s Helps people to stay in touch with labour market. s Employers may take advantage of the subsidies and employ cheap workers. s Enterprise subsidies may have high dead-weight losses and displacement effects towards other small enterprises. s Dead-weight losses in re-employment and employer bonuses; unemployed may have found job & could have been hired anyway.
> Direct job creation s Helps LT unemployed to keep in touch with labour market s Can be used as a work test f.or unemployment benefit claimants. s Leads to production of public goods and develops infrastructure. s Is costly. s Bad stigma; people who have participated in these programmes can have difficulties to find genuine jobs. s Does not help to find a permanent job. s Have low marginal value; jobs may be of low productivity. s Crowding out of private jobs.
> Job search assistance/ counselling s Least costly measure. s Helps reduce length of unemployment. s Can be used to pre-screen participants who may get assistance from other ALMPs. s Dead-weight loss. s Benefits only a fraction of job-seekers.
>
> Sources: Dar and Tzannatos, 1999; Martin, 1998; Meager and Evans, 1998.
>
>
> Evaluations of the economic impact of ALMPs show that many programmes have little or no impact on the employability or earnings of many participants. However, ALMPs can serve important social objectives, such as integrating marginalised groups into the labour market and promoting social cohesion (Dar and Tzannatos 1999).
>
>
> 2.6 ALMPs and youth employment
> ALMPs for young people are in practice usually aimed at skill upgrading and work experience in particular. This implies that ALMPs are closely related to the educational system in a country. The type of youth ALMP that is appropriate will largely depend on the type of education and training system that is already in place in a country (O> '> Higgins, 2001). The quality of the education system has enormous impact on the overall skill base of the workforce, particularly new entrants. Especially for the developing economies in the area, education strategies are a vital component in overall growth strategies. Solid and appropriate (demand-driven) skills determine, in part, which entrants find jobs and which do not. The education system overall needs to balance academic and vocational tensions, assuring that vocational skills are provided based on the skills demanded. Finally, education financing policy and subsidy or contribution exemption schemes for those with less ability to pay are important to ensure equitable access to education (Armstrong et al, 1999).
>
> The general experience shows that a combination of subsidised work experience and vocational training is the best mix (O> '> Higgens 2001). Work schemes alone tend to have large dead-weight, displacement and substitution effects while purely theoretical education does not yield the necessary results. However, ILO (2001) emphasises that it should be recognised that the effectiveness of both these methods is likely to depend on the particular country> '> s economic cycle. In times of economic prosperity, training can help solving a skill mismatch. During a recession, work experience programmes are only a means of maintaining young people> '> s attachment to the labour market without giving them unrealistic expectations of post-programme job openings.
>
> ILO
> Within its broader labour oriented mission, the International Labour Office is especially concerned with the betterment of youth employment. It acts as a forum whereby knowledge is exchanged, by means of symposia, conferences and policy formulation. In many instances it operates with other institutions such as the UNDP, the World Bank and national governments in executing programmes that address youth employment issues, specifically or within greater policy issues.
>
> The ILO encourages national governments to employ ALMP> '> s specifically designated towards youth employment, because there exists concerns that are specific to this sub-group within the labour force. It is perceptible that understanding the scope of youth labour market issues and creating sufficient labour market awareness of the youth situation is implicit to the process.
>
> Youth employment issues are influenced by a number factors that play distinct roles, some of which require separate consideration. The ILO gives individual priority to four specific priorities namely, enhancing employability, employment creation, entrepreneurship and equality between men and women (United Nations 2001).
>
> Employability
> Congruent to the increasing level of globalisation and technology, the skills that are being demanded from the workforce are continually increasing. Continual education and training of the potential workforce is of principal significance in maintaining a skilled labour force. The cultivation of necessary skills is important to all national stakeholders, those being employers, government, unions and potential employees. This cultivation of skills is important in order to improve competitiveness on a micro, macro and global economic level. A vital issue in many less developed countries is youth being excluded from the labour market due to the lack of sufficient education and skills.
>
> Employability is not singularly devoted to attaining and improving skills, but also concerns the linkage into the labour market. Additional focus is placed on involving employers as stakeholders in furthering their influence on processes that realise the transferring of skills through training institutions and likewise by means of apprenticeships. Positive indicators to this effect have emerged from policy experience thus far.
>
> Youth entrepreneurship
> Labour market programmes are often unable to address all employment deficiencies amongst youth. An employment policy that is increasingly gaining attention is the encouragement of self-employment, through for instance of micro-enterprises or small business up-starts. The attention is partly generated by the strengthened position that small-businesses are attaining as economic actors in various economies. The linkage towards youth as a potential participant group is logical because of their dynamic potential.
>
> Self-employment is seen as an attractive tool to further youth employment, mainly because of the potential benefits it incorporates. Several aspects of this measure possess value for policy makers namely; greater self-reliance, increased innovation and competitiveness, and possibilities for new employment. Additionally youth entrepreneurship can lead to improvements in employability due to skills and experience attained. Moreover, it can create linkages towards other economic actors, even if the business fails. Non-tangible effects such as confidence and image improvement contain some value for potential employers and peers.
>
> Equality between men and women>
> Due to discriminatory policies, structural barriers and cultural prejudices, young women have in general greater difficulties than young men in entering, and staying in, the world of work. In many countries the opportunities are stifled by the lack of access to education for young women. Additionally even though women outperform at school they are often denied labour market access. Many long-term opportunities are created through work experience when workers are still youths. For this reason it is important to introduce women into the workforce early on and hereby develop their potential capacity. Additionally women maintain their dignity when they can exercise their fundamental right to earn a living and contribute to their family> '> s welfare.
>
> Drawing women into the workplace is not only a question of equal rights and non-discrimination, but this process is viewed as an important element in utilising human resources to a full extent as possible. Identifying gender differences is the initial step towards equality. Some arguments pose that since women have different abilities and capacities than men, and that these differences disqualify them for many positions. However it is these differences that are often the source of a broadening of the human resources and capacities available to employers.
>
> Employment Creation
> The previous three priorities - employability, equal opportunities and entrepreneurship - require an enabling environment where employment creation is placed at the centre of macroeconomic and other public policies. For example, employability requires not just appropriate skills and training but also public policies which lead to new employment opportunities.
>
> Multidisciplinary approach
> The ILO advises a system of ALMPs that approaches youth development by multidisciplinary means. Stakeholders are encouraged to actively partake in programme formulations. Included in this group are employers> '> organisations, trade unions, (youth) NGO> '> s and a various set of governmental institutions. The involvement of international institutions (World Bank, UNDP, etc) can play a valuable role in technical and funding assistance.
>
> The set of issues that receive the most attention from the ILO are:
> s The development of strategic plans according to defined criteria, target groups, goals and tasks for stakeholders.
> s Employment-intensive growth.
> s Developing youth employability with well considered education, labour market
> and social policies.
> s Exploiting opportunities in the ICT sector.
> s Fostering work experience in conjunction with educational agendas.
> s Retaining youth within educational systems in order to effectively nurture skill potentials.
> s Defining relevant vocational training and education efforts to suffice labour market needs.
> s Creating equal access for developing an entrance of young women into the labour market.
> s Creating specific and expansive attention towards entrepreneurship development.
> s Additional attention for macro economic policies to strengthen the demand for youth labour.
> s Improving labour market information and vocational guidance.
>
> Because of the vulnerable position of youth on most labour markets, the ILO advocates a specific and comprehensive approach for youth employment. It attempts to involve all major labour market actors in defining, designing and implementing youth employment issues. The most important options are seen as seeking a sufficient information exchange base, improving education and training, furthering linkages to the labour market and encouraging self-employment. Various ILO organs are involved in disseminating the various policy requirements over a broad range of international and national actors.
>
>
> 2.7 Evaluation results
> Unfortunately, monitoring and evaluation is often not a feature in ALMP-processes. Although rigorous evaluations of the impacts of ALMPs world-wide is still limited, policy makers are increasingly recognising the importance of good evaluations in improving the de> sign of the programmes. Policy makers want to know what programmes accomplish, what they cost and how they should be designed to be cost-effective. In practice most evaluation studies only concentrate on the impact of the ALMPs on employment and wages.
>
> The main problem in assessing the impact of ALMPs is that most participants would also have had a chance to find a job in the case of non-participation. The basic question is therefore: what difference does participation make. Hence, the net impact of a program is defined as the increase in job entry chances or wage levels as a result of the program. >From a macro-economic point of view the net impact is affected by deadweight loss, displacement and substitution effects, as well as other general equilibrium effects (see box 2.1).
>
>
> Box 2.1 Commonly used evaluation terminology.
>
> s Substitution effect: a worker taken on by a firm in a subsidized job is substituted for an unsubsidized worker who would have been hired. The net short-term impact on employment is therefore zero.
> s Displacement effect: this refers to a displacement in the product market. A firm with subsidized workers increases output, but reduces output among firms who do not have subsidized workers. This is also the case in helping individuals to start their own business. There may also be fiscal displacement with respect to labor market policies; fiscal displacement exists when central governments provide funding to local governments for job creation projects who in turn use this funding to carry out projects that they would have implemented anyway.
> s Dead-weight loss: the outcome of the program is no different from what would have happened in its absence. A common example is a wage subsidy to place an unemployed person in a firm, whereas the hiring would have taken place anyway, even without the subsidy. (Fay, 1996).
>
>
> Betcherman et al (2000) have reviewed international experiences with active labour market policies and their applicability to the East Asian countries (see also Betcherman and Islam 2001). Table 2.10 shows the results. These results focus on the experience of OECD countries. Within the framework of this project it is of interest to pay special attention to the training programmes for youth. Dar and Tzannatos (1999) examined seven evaluations of training programmes for youth. These programmes usually aim at:
> s Assisting school dropouts (often special attention to youth who drop out prior to completing upper secondary education).
> s Youth who come from severely disadvantaged families.
>
> The assisted individuals are typically below the age of 20. The evaluation results are, compared to training programmes for the long-term unemployed and those laid-off en masse, the most discouraging. The training programmes rarely had an effect on earnings or employment probabilities of programme beneficiaries compared to their counterparts in some control groups. In almost all cases, participants did no better than the control group either in enhancing their post-training employment probability or their earnings.
>
> One more promising project concerns the Canadian Job Entry Programme. The evaluation of this programme showed that youth who only undertook classroom training did not do better, but those who took enterprise training did significantly better than the control group. Enterprise training seems to be more effective for young men, with little effects on young women. The positive impact of enterprise training was attributed to youngsters> '> staying-on with the training firms.
>
>
> Table 2.10 Overview of ALMP evaluation results.
>
> Programme Appear to help Comments
> Job-search assistance/ Employment services (19 programmes evaluated) Adult unemployed generally when economic conditions are improving; women may benefit more Relatively more cost-effective than other labour market interventions (e.g. training), mainly due to the lower cost, youth do not benefit usually. Difficulty lies in deciding who needs help in order to minimise dead-weight loss.>
> Training of long-term unemployed (28) Women and other disadvantaged groups No more effective than job-search assistance in increasing re-employment probabilities and post-intervention earnings and are 2-4 times more costly.
> Retraining in the case of mass layoffs (12) Little positive impact, mainly when economy is doing better No more effective than job-search assistance and significantly more expensive. Rate of return on these programmes usually negative.
> Training for youth (7) No positive impact Employment/earnings prospects not improved as a result of going through the training. Taking costs into account, the real rate of return of these programmes is negative.
> Employment/wage subsidies (22) Long-term unemployed in providing an entry into the labour force High dead-weight and substitution effects. Impact analysis shows treatment group does not do well as compared to control. Sometimes used by firms as a permanent subsidy programme
> Public works programmes (17) Severely disadvantaged groups in providing temporary employment and a safety net Long-term employment prospects not helped. Programme participants are less likely to be employed in a normal job and earn less than do individuals in the control group. Not cost-effective if objective is to get people into gainful employment
> Micro-enterprise development programmes (15) Relatively older groups, the more educated Very low take-up rate of small businesses. High dead-weight and displacement effects. High costs, cost-benefit analyses rarely conducted but sometimes show costs to UI budget higher than for control group.
>
> Source: Dar and Tzannatos (1999) and Betcherman et al (2001).
>
>
> Recommendations
> In implementing ALMPs, Betcherman et al (2000) conclude from several evaluation studies of ALMPs in Asia that the following should be taken into consideration in the implementation of ALMPs:
> s Priority setting.
> s Consider the roles of both public and private sectors.
> s Promote partnerships and dialogue.
> s A sufficient Labour market information system.
> s Co-ordination within government.
> s Policy and administrative capacity within the government.
> s Balance for public and private spending and financing
> s Monitoring and evaluation.
> 2.8 Conclusions
> In quite a number of countries in Asia and the Pacific (reliable) data concerning the details of youth unemployment are, if available at all, hard to find. Especially when ALMPs are targeted at a specific subgroup, detailed data are indispensable. According to the World Bank (1999), areas in which information, needed for initiating and implementing ALMPs in general, is particularly weak include:
> s Quantitative and qualitative indicators of labour market trends.
> s Portfolio review of labour market work undertaken in the region.
> s Role and functioning of the informal labour market.
> s Status of vulnerable groups in labour markets (children, migrants).
> s Existing insurance schemes (unemployment, injury).
> s Vocational training policies and programmes.
> s Labour administration at local and central levels.
>
> Moreover, it can be questioned whether there is enough information available regarding the specific causes of youth unemployment in the region. Without information on the details and causes of youth unemployment clear-cut policy descriptions are very hard to make. If the falling demand for labour is the most important cause of (rising) youth unemployment, ALMPs may well not be the best policy measures to take. In this respect, countries in the Asian and Pacific region may learn some lessons from Eastern European countries. There, the former centrally planned economies converted from a > '> job rights> '> economy to a > '> job search> '> economy: a surplus of labour and a shortage of jobs replaced excess demand for labour and shortage of labour. Consequently, unemployment emerged and grew rapidly. As a response to the high unemployment rates, most Central and Eastern European countries enthusiastically adopted at least the concept of a> ctive labour market programmes. However, it is widely recognised that the role that ALMPs can play during economic downturns is limited, even in fully developed market economies. Nevertheless, most Central and Eastern European countries put much effort into the implementation of active labour market policy measures. Due to the lack of labour demand in these countries, the ALMPs did by no means produce the intended results. Still, the main lesson that has been learnt is that when designing ALMPs, especially in sub-optimal economic conditions, targeting is crucial (O> '> Higgens 2001). In Western countries, but also in Eastern European countries, studies found that closely targeted programmes are more effective than non-targeted ones. Targeting can be aimed at the people participating in the programme, but also on the industries or economic situation in which the programmes take place. Many schemes that have been initiated in Central and Eastern European countries during the early 90s, have failed for the reasons mentioned above. On the other hand, besides economic aspects ALMPs serve social objectives as well. In Europe there is social consensus on the necessity to pursue an active labour market policy: its right to exist is not dependent on achievement of the desired effects. The measurement of effect is only done to improve their efficiency.
>
> 3 Active Labour Market Policies for youth at national level
> 3.1 Introduction
> Section 3.2 of this chapter starts with an overview of examples of specific active labour market policies, targeted at youth, taken in the Asian and Pacific region. The initiatives described were realised by consulting national institutions (Ministries of Labour and Social Policy) dealing with labour market programmes for youth. Since monitoring and evaluation results are often not a feature of any of these programmes, section 3.3 discusses some evaluation results of international experiences with ALMPs (targeted on youth). Section 3.4 summarises the main findings of this chapter.
>
>
> 3.2 Examples of ALMPs targeted at youth
> In order to learn more about national initiatives to promote youth employment we have consulted national institutions, in particular Ministries of Labour and Social Policy. In total we contacted national institutions in 13 countries. Our approach was as follows: first we called the Ministries of Labour to find a contact person. We explicitly asked for an expert in Active Labour Market Programmes for youth employment. We were not successful in finding an appropriate contact person in all 13 countries. After identifying contact persons we explained the aim of our research project and sent them a questionnaire. In this questionnaire we asked the contact persons to give us information on employment programmes targeted at youth, in particular the objectives of these programmes, partnering organisations and monitoring and evaluation results. We also asked them to send us information on an example of a programme they considered a best practice example. In total we received 9 responses (Australia, Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Singapore, Vietnam and New Zealand). Some of them filled in the questionnaire, others informed us in other ways about their programmes for youth. The contact persons in Cambodia and Singapore informed us that no ALMPs for youth employment have been implemented in their countries.
>
> In the following sections the information available on national initiatives is presented. From country to country the detail of information differs substantially. In some countries youth employment programmes have been carried out for years whereas in other countries youth employment is not (considered) a problem. In the following we present the main responses of the countries.
>
> Nepal
> Although there are many active labour market programmes (ALMPs) in Nepal that have been oriented towards youth employment there are no ALMPs that have been specially focused towards the youth between 15 and 24 years. The on-going programmes are supposed to contribute > towards youth employment promotion in the public and private sector, both in farm and off-farm areas. The National Planning Commission, the Employment Promotion Commission (EPC) and line Ministries have been playing a lead role in policy making for youth employment.
>
> Youth self-employment programmes, implemented under supervision under the EPC, and skills development programmes, implemented under supervision of different government ministries, donors and non-government agencies, emphasised employability and entrepreneurship based on gender equality. The Ministry of Women, Child and Social Welfare is taking care of programmes specifically targeted at women.
>
> Both the public and the private sector are involved in undertaking youth employment sector programmes. The public sector finances a major proportion of expenses of these programmes. The role of the private sector is limited but increasing. During fiscal year 2001/02 (mid July 2001 to mid July 2002) it is estimated that about 100 thousand youths will be participating in some sort of youth employment programmes to be undertaken by the public and private sector. It is estimated that about Rs. 1 billion (* $ 2,3 million) will be spent during the fiscal year for youth employment programmes.
>
> In general, the impact of these programmes is not considered satisfactory. Most programmes oriented towards youth employment have been supply driven with not enough emphasis on employment and enterprise development. The on-going programmes need to be reoriented and restructured to make them market oriented and demand driven. Therefore, on our request to highlight one of their programmes as a best practice example, the EPC answered that it was not possible to underline any of the programmes as a best practical example. In the ongoing programmes many deficiencies still exist, thus a reconfiguration of the present programmes is required. The Youth Self-employment Programme (YSEP) is still under design, which is supposed to overcome such deficiencies. The proposed YSEP will focus on youth employment promotion through multiple partnerships, an approach based on local resources and competencies. It will also be attempted to develop forward and backward linkages to enable enterprise development as well as wage employment on a sustainable basis.
>
> Japan
> The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has developed various measures to help the school-leavers. For example, the Employment Support Measure, for students who are about to graduate from high school, there is a system in which public employment security offices work with schools, which act as a go-between in helping students find work. For those who are about to graduate from college or from some other form of higher education, schools and private sector companies provide information to help students find work. Both of these systems had worked to ensure that a high percentage of students found employment. In recent years, however, the number of job offers, particularly for those with only a high school diploma, has fallen significantly. In response, public employment security offices have enhanced support services in the following ways:
>
> Measures for New High School Graduates
> The public employment security offices organise job interview fairs, in which students and companies come together in a single location (being held all over the country). Classes on how to prepare to find employment are being offered to high school students. The main results over fiscal year 2000 were the following:
> s 183 job interview fairs.
> s 27,335 job seekers.
> s 6,054 people successful in finding employment.
>
> Measures for New College Graduates
> Public employment security offices specialising in the needs of new college graduates were established in each prefecture and are now providing information, offering employment counselling, and placement services. The main results over fiscal year 2000 were: >
> s 288 job interview fairs.
> s 122,340 job seekers.
> s 13,407 people successful in finding employment.
>
> Measures for High School and College Graduates Who Have Yet to Find Employment
> Students who graduated without having found employment are registered with an employment security office. Employment counselling and information are provided to these students. Classes providing necessary information for job-hunting are offered. Occupational training is provided by companies and special schools on an outsource basis.
>
> Employment Support Measures for Youth Who Are Not Employed in a > '> Stable> '> Job
> In recent years, the number of youth who do not find full-time employment after graduation and repeat a cycle of part-time jobs and unemployment has grown significantly (the 1997 figure of 1.51 million grew by 500,000 in 5 years). Therefore, beginning in the current fiscal year, some public employment security offices in urban areas are creating policies for providing individualised support. These policies will be followed in assessing aptitudes; counselling, employment guidance, providing formation; and developing labour demand.
>
> Enlightenment of Job Consciousness of Youth
> It has been pointed out that the high rate of youth unemployment and growth in the number of youth who are not employed in a > '> stable> '> job indicate that awareness of job consciousness on the part of youth is insufficient. Therefore, the government is supporting the implementation of employment guidance and internships through schools, from early on in students> '> schooling.
>
> Public Vocational Training
> In Human Resources Development Centres, Polytechnic Colleges, Polytechnic Centres, and other such public human resources development facilities, various types of public vocational training are provided to meet workers> '> individual needs. Additionally, when necessary, public human resources development facilities provide public vocational training on an outsourced basis through special technical schools and other private sector education and training institutions. Public vocational training is offered to the unemployed, persons who are currently employed, and school graduates. Youths are not the only group targeted, but appropriate vocational training is provided to them through this public vocational training framework.
>
> Training periods are anywhere from a month to a year for the unemployed, 2-5 days for those who are currently employed, and 1-2 years for school graduates. Training plans for 2001 are targeting 380,000 unemployed people, 400,000 currently employed people, and 30,000 school graduates. In 2000, 240,000 unemployed people, 270,000 currently employed people, and 30,000 school graduates underwent training.
>
> Best Practice Example
> Although Japan is implementing numerous labour market projects targeted at youth, no single programme was highlighted to serve as a best practice example. The strength of the programmes described above is that combined they reach the highest effectiveness.
>
>
> Box 3.1 Employment of youth not a problem in Singapore.
>
> Singapore: > "> > We experience some difficulties filling in your questionnaire as youth unemployment is not a problem in Singapore. Owing to our strong economic growth over the years, unemployment, particularly among the youth had not been a problem at least up to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/98. In fact, we had been facing a tight labour market and had to admit a large number of foreigners to work in Singapore to meet our manpower needs. However, as a result of the crisis, we begin to face higher unemployment at between 3 - 4 % and among the workers who are hit hardest are the older ones. Although there was a strong economic recovery in 2000, the slowdown in the US economy this year aggravated by the September 11 tragedy has again brought about widespread retrenchments among companies in Singapore and also the problem of unemployment, particularly among the older workers. In response to this situation, the Government ha> s introduced a series of measures to help the unemployed, particularly the older ones to seek re-employment expeditiously, and if training is needed, through funding subsidies to encourage employers to employ them. Since youth unemployment today is still not a problem in Singapore, all the government measures to overcome this problem do not specifically aim at younger job seekers. In fact they are geared more towards helping the older ones who have greater difficulty seeking re-employment due to our seniority wage system and employers' preference for younger workers > "> .
> Source: Response Ministry of Manpower, Labour Relations Department, Singapore
>
> Vietnam
> The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) is the agency responsible for drafting, issuing and developing the labour, invalids and social policies. At present, MOLISA is assigned by the Government to be the standing body for the national target programme on employment promotion. In order to implement these duties, the Department of Labour and Employment Policies (DLEP) is assigned to help MOLISA in building, managing and developing the labour and employment policies including youth employment policy. The DLEP is also responsible for co-ordinating, integrating the implementation of the National Programme on employment promotion into other programmes related to youth employment promotion. The Government is the biggest actor in providing financial resources for these programmes.
>
> The following main types of active labour market programmes are currently being implemented in Vietnam:
> s Job and vocational training programmes for youth.
> s Networking of employment services for youth.
> s Job bazaars for youth.
> s Loan and financial assistance for young people who are self-employed.
> s The Government assigns a number of socio-economic programmes for the Vietnam Youth Union to monitor and create jobs for young people.
>
> These programmes have actively affected employment promotion for young people. The Programmes on job consultation and orientation have assisted young people in accessing labour market information. The main lessons learned from these programmes are:
> s These programmes should be provided greater support by the Government, both in policy and financial aspects.
> s The Vietnam Youth Union should highlight the active role in implementing these programmes.
> s It needs to create more programmes that are designed by and for young people and expand them to other sectors and areas, especially private sector and rural areas.
>
> Best practice example
> The project > "> Employment services for young people> "> is considered, by MOLISA, as the best practice example since it provides job consultation and orientation for young people who have just entered the labour force and helps them to have information on labour market and job opportunities. Vietnam has a young population with a large number of new entrants on the labour market every year. The percentage of young workers as a proportion of the total labour force is very high. Since young people have scarce labour market information, low skills and limited work experience they are the highest risk group to become jobless. Therefore it is necessary to provide job consultation and job orientation (career guidance) as well as vocational training services. Therefore, the main objectives of the employment service system are:
> s Capacity building of the employment services system.
> s Providing job consultation and orientation and vocational training for young people.
> s Creating jobs for young people.
>
> In 2000, the numbers of young employees who took part in the project are the following:
> s Job consultation: 35,887 persons.
> s Vocational training for young people: 13,197 persons.
> s Job matching and job introduction: 23,940 persons.
>
> > The programme has just reached the target groups (new entrants on the labour market and graduates from high school and all types of occupational and professional education) in big cities such as Hanoi, Ho> Chi Minh City and other big cities. The programme was implemented at the national and provincial level through a system of employment service centres. According to MOLISA programmes need to be integrated with participation of government ministries, business groups, social organisations and other associations. The programme has not yet reached the target groups in rural areas. The fact that the programme still cannot expand to pure agricultural provinces and still hasn> '> t yet reached to young people in rural areas is considered to be the main weakness of the project.
>
> The main strength of the project > "> Employment services for young people> "> is that it creates opportunities for young people to access labour market information to determine the requirements of the labour market that should be satisfied. Moreover, according to the target groups themselves, it assists young people to overcome the most difficult stage of their life.
>
> The main lesson learned is that the programme must attract the active participation of ministries and business sectors, associations and social organisations, especially the Vietnam Youth Union, in order to achieve better results. Quality and capacity of staff of the target Employment Service centres have been significantly enhanced. However, the activities on capacity building for staff and employment service centres should be continuously implemented.
>
> To achieve even better results, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) recommends the following:
> s Due to limited financial resources, it is strongly recommended that the Government and other social organisations should support more in policy framework and budget.
> s The programme should attract many employers to take part in this programme, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises where employment opportunities are high.
> s The programme should expand its activities to young people in rural areas where overall unemployment and under-employment persists at an estimated rate of 27-28%, and up to 35% during non-harvest periods.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Box 3.2 How to improve human capital, China.
>
> In China, the youth pre-employment training programme was launched in September 1999 to tackle the problem of youth unemployment. Since it was launched, the programme has received encouraging support from various quarters of the community and attracted over ten thousand young people aged 15 to 19 to participate. Participating trainees and employers consider the training highly useful and suited to the needs of young school leavers. The Government has decided to continue and further expand the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme. A new On-the-Job Training Scheme (OJTS) is added to enhance the employment opportunities of young people and promote the importance of the concepts of "life-long learning" and "continued personal development". The OJTS aims at establishing partnership with the employers, enhancing the employability of the trainees under the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme, and easing the manpower shortage problem of employers by helping them develop in-house talents through offering on-the-job training. The employers and the trainees are free to negotiate the wages of the trainees during the on-the-job training period. The OJTS focuses on practicability. Through specialised training arranged for the trainees by individual companies, a mentor relationship can be fostered which in turn reduces the staff mobility. It will not only be useful to sizeable organisations, but will also be of particular benefits to Small and Medium Enterprises.
> Source: United Nations, website:esa.un.org/socdev/unyin, October 2001.
>
>
> Korea
> Th> e government plays a leading role in labour market programmes in Korea. It provides programmes financed out of the national coffer and the Employment Insurance Fund. Job opportunities are provided to the unemployed youths and opportunities to enhance employability are offered. Youths are mobilised for projects such as public works prog> rammes. Moreover, various vocational training programmes, for example in the IT field, are provided to them. The training expenses are subsidised.
>
> Depending on the unemployment situation, the participants and budgets for programmes vary. For the year 2000, 70 thousand youths participated in job provision programme, and 60 thousand in vocational ability development and job placement programmes.
>
> Best practice example
> To provide youths with employment opportunities and workplace experiences, the Ministry of Labour is implementing a "Government-subsidised intern programme". The Ministry pays 500,000 Won per month for firms which hire youths as interns (for a minimum period of three months), and pays the amount for three additional months if the firms convert them as regular workers. The main purpose is to provide unemployed youths with jobs and vocational ability development opportunities. The target group is the jobless people aged between 18 and 30. For 2001, a total of 39,000 unemployed youths is participating in this programme.
>
> The Employment Security Centre, an integrated employment services organisation under the Ministry of Labour, receives applications from firms which want to hire interns and youth unemployed. The Employment Security Centre connects the firms and the interns and youth unemployed. The government provides subsidy to firms who hire the interns (and youth unemployed), and the interns receive intern allowances from the firms. The implementation of this programme takes place nation wide. Since this programme offers jobs and workplace experiences to youth during a period of massive unemployment, this programme is considered as the best practice example of an ALMP for youth in Korea. The > "> Unemployment Measurement Team> "> established in the Ministry of Labour reviews all the unemployment countermeasures in Korea. Monitoring and evaluation results concerning the > '> Government-subsidised intern programmes> '> are not available.
>
>
> Box 3.3 Encouraging youth participation in activities of employers and workers, Australia.
>
> Australia has developed "A National Youth Policy: A Statement of Principles and Objectives." The government of Australia supports vocational education and training for youth. The government wants to contribute to the development of a vocational education and training system that provides young people with pathways to real job opportunities. The Ministry of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs believes that vocational education and training is vital to the Australian society to adapt flexibly and dynamically to the challenges of a competitive global economy. A high quality of national training system provides a highly skilled workforce. The government will maintain funding to the states and territories for the next three years and they will achieve growth in their vocational education and training systems through efficiencies. Through such assistance, youth in > Australia will benefit from additional quality in vocational education and training places that are relevant to the needs of business and industry and will help them gain real jobs. The New National Apprenticeship System is the centrepiece of the national training reforms. New Apprenticeships take the concepts of quality training, embodied in the traditional apprenticeship, into new industries and occupations, which will meet the needs of employers and young people. The government has granted $560 million in giving incentives to employers, apprentices and trainees to support up to 220,000 places over the 1997/98 and 1998/99 financial years. Under the new National Training Framework arrangements, qualifications (including for new Apprenticeships) will be recognised in all states and territories. This will greatly expand career opportunities for young Australians who will have their skills recognised wherever they wish to work in Australia. Another important reform initiative which aims to help build a pathway for young people from school to employment is the provision of gr> eater opportunities for young people to access vocational education and training in schools. The types of skills recognised by industries in Australia include, inter alia, the followings: team leadership; occupational health and safety; communication in the workplace; salesmanship and customer relations; stock management; security and cash control.
> Source: United Nations, website:esa.un.org/socdev/unyin, October 2001.
>
>
> New Zealand
> In New Zealand, a number of Government agencies have responsibility for the purchase and delivery of labour market programmes for youth. These include:
> s Work and Income NZ (part of the Ministry of Social Development): delivers a range of employment programmes and services available to all working age job seekers, two national motivational programmes targeted specifically to youth, and numerous regional programmes targeted to youth.
> s Ministry of Youth Affairs: delivers two youth development programmes - Conservation Corps and Youth Services Corps.
> s Skill New Zealand: manages labour market training for youth through the Youth Training programme.
>
> According to guidelines set by Cabinet and Minister of Social Services and Employment, eligible youth may be entitled to the following types of labour market programmes:
> s Employment Related Case Management.
> s Work Transition Grants.
> s Job Search Assistance.
> s Work Confidence Programmes.
> s Work Experience.
> s Wage Subsidies.
> s Training.
> s Self-employment Assistance.
> s Community Employment.
> s Grants and subsidies for disabilities.
> s Innovation and Market Responsiveness.
>
> These programmes aim to improve employment prospects for youth. The guidelines set by the Minister of Social Services and Employment recognise women as a disadvantaged group in the labour market. Therefore, they aim to make employment programmes and services accessible to women.
>
> Entrepreneurship
> Entrepreneurship may be accessed by youth via the Enterprise Allowance programme, which falls under the Self-employment category of the same guidelines. The Enterprise Allowance is made up of a capitalisation grant and a subsidy to support the business in its early stages and can be paid up to 52 weeks.
>
> Employability
> There are two nationally driven programmes provided by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) that aim to increase employability. These short-term training programmes designed to provide skills, motivation and confidence, to help clients gain employment or move into work related training. They are:
> s Limited Services Volunteers (LSV): is a 6-week residential motivational training scheme run by the New Zealand Defence Force through the LSV Company and is located at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch. LSV is targeted at young people aged 18 to 25.
> s Outward Bound: is a motivational training course for young, unemployed job seekers (aged 18 to 26 years) provided by Outward Bound. MSD contracts Outward Bound to provide 22-day, out-door, motivational and physically challenging courses specifically for MSD clients. The course is held at Anakiwa in the Marlborough Sounds. As well as providing a range of challenging outdoor solo and teamwork activities, the course also includes "strategies for change back home". The course takes place in an outdoor environment and includes activities such as kayaking, sailing, bush-craft and a solo expedition.
>
> Ministry of Youth Affairs
> The Ministry of Youth Affairs provides two youth development programmes:
>
> New Zealand Conservation Corps (NZCC) programme provides youth development through a holistic approach, enabling young people to undertake conservation projects, opportunities for educational learning and evaluation of career choices, and challenging recreation. NZCC is targeted at 16-25 year olds.
>
> Youth Services Corps (YSC) programme has the same intent but aims to achieve this through community work projects. YSC is targeted at 16-20 year olds. The duration of both programmes is 20 weeks.>
>
> Skill New Zealand
> Skill New Zealand purchases skill development and labour market training for youth through the Youth Training programme. Youth training, which is a form of skills training, caters for those young people for whom the formal education system has not proven effective. Typically the client group has a high level of need for additional support services, including literacy support. The outcomes required from Youth Training are the achievement of credit towards national qualifications and movement into further education, training or employment. Youth training is fully funded for the learner.
>
> The New Zealand public sector plays a major role in initiating and funding youth employment programmes. Government agencies, such as Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Skill New Zealand, acting on behalf of Government, purchase programmes from private or community-based organisations.
>
> Number of participants
> Number of participants in ALMPs, specifically aimed at youth (in 2000):
> s Youth Training: 13,000 participants.
> s Conservation and Youth Services Corps: 1,900 participants.
> s LSV: 864 participants.
> s Outward Bound: 264 participants.
>
> As mentioned earlier, the above programmes are not the only youth programmes available in New Zealand. Youth are also eligible for the main employment programmes and services which are aimed at long-term unemployed or those at risk of becoming long term unemployed.
>
> Expenditures
> Expenditures on specific Youth Programmes (Expenditure for 2001):
> s Youth Training: $ 67.098 million.
> s Outward Bound: $ 1 million.
> s LSV: $ 1.5 million.
>
> Programmes Administered By Ministry of Youth Affairs (expenditure for 2000/01):
> s Conservation Corps: $ 6,233,000.
> s Youth Services Corps: $ 887,000.
>
> Lessons learned
> Monitoring and evaluating the programmes is still in development and, consequently, there is no good comparative information on the effectiveness of youth programmes available. However, anecdotal information suggests that:
> s Youth have diverse needs and a varied menu of programmes is needed to meet these needs.
> s Sometimes one programme is not enough and a > '> stair-casing> '> approach is necessary.
> s An early intervention approach in dealing with youth is very important to counteract barriers to sustainable employment.
>
> China
> The Ministry of Labour, the Communist Youth Council and the Ministry of Education are the main policy makers regarding youth affairs. These organisations developed various measures to help youth:
> s Tax-cuts to stimulate employment for youth from cities.
> s Lowering the pressure to search for work.
> s New regulations to better prepare youth for the labour market.
> s Project > "> Thousand schools and a million youth> "> : training of youth from rural areas to work in cities, training of youth leadership, counselling etc..
> s Employment agencies, with an additional function of generating and conveying information concerning employment generation.
>
> Employability
> The main focus towards improved employability is directed through educating and counselling youth leaders. They should in turn form the spearhead towards encouraging youth into the workplace. They are seen as the pinnacle in improving quality and services of businesses. Additionally awareness campaigns are directed towards youth on improving the perspective towards the value of work.
>
> Best Practice Example: new regulations to better prepare youth for work
> The government of China has introduced new regulations to improve the quality of young workers and to train the labour reserves. The core of this new legislation concerns the following aspects:
> s Implementation of strict entrance requirements to start working.
> s Lower the pressure to search for work.
> s Vocational training.
> s Providing employment services.
>
> This project is implemented in all cities in China but there are plans to extend the project to rural areas. The most important target group c> oncerns school-leavers of primary and secondary schools who want to work in cities and who do not have the intention to start working in the agricultural sector. In 2000 730 thousand people participated in this project. Before this target group enters the labour market they have to meet strict requirements. For example, they have to follow a vocational training programme, which takes between 1 and 3 years.
>
> Implementation of these new regulations involve the following measures:
> s Developing vocational training and education: depending on the requirements of the labour market various training programmes can be developed.
> s Strict entrance requirements: only participants who get a certificate are allowed start searching for a job. The participants who don> '> t get a certificate are not allowed to be helped by the labour office or to be recruited by enterprises that need workers.
> s Active support. In principle, participants and enterprises that need new workers have to pay the costs of training. Depending on the situation, the government gives financial support. Participants who have followed training for over a year can get permission, under the same conditions, to continue vocational education.
> s Stimulate employment after training. Training participants are taken into an information system of the employment service.
>
> There are three sources of financing: (government) subsidies, payments made by the training participants and the companies requiring the services of employees (and the private sector).
>
> Monitoring and evaluation
> The project > "> new regulations to better prepare youth for work> "> is monitored regularly. Monitoring takes place as follows: the central government monitors the provinces, the provinces monitor the cities and the cities monitor the rural areas. Monitoring mainly takes place on basis of data collection and analyses. Also irregular inspections are organised. These take place by co-operation between inspection teams from the central government and local inspection teams. The main aim is to detect problems and to find solutions.
>
> Recommendations
> The government and the whole society have to be strongly involved in employment (measures) for youth. More research (and financial means) regarding labour market policy measures specifically targeted on youth is needed. The research results can be used to implement the measures more effectively. The government also needs to set up funds for specific (international) projects to increase the capacities of young workers to search for work. Moreover, a system of training and education needs to be set up to take into accounts the specific characteristics and needs of the youth. Finally, measures to encourage recruitment of young workers and the entrance of young workers on the labour market need to be created.
>
> Australia
> The Australian government has developed policies and programmes at national, state and community level. The youth employment policy is focussed at a wide set of instruments. These instruments cover job-seeking assistance, skills and experience development, awareness programs and self-employment avocation. Many programmes are specifically designed to cater for various disadvantaged groups such as disabled youth and indigenous population groups. The general policy also caters for reducing unemployment probabilities for higher risk groups such as drug dependents and young offenders.
>
> The Commonwealth Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (DEWRSB) administer a number of active labour market programmes. The primary focus of DEWRSB> '> s active labour market programmes is achieving employment outcomes. However, the emphasis of programmes such as New Enterprise Incentive Scheme and the Indigenous Small Business Fund is entrepreneurship. DEWRSB> '> s active labour market programmes provide a range of services designed to meet individual job seekers needs. >
>
> The funding originates from the Commonwealth, while policy development occurs at DEWRSB on the direction of the Government. For this purpose both Government and DEWRSB engage in ongoing and extensive consultations processes with these organisations and other peek agencies such as ACOSS (a community organisation comprising of at least 80 peak community welfare bodies) and NESA (industry organisation of employment services). DEWRSB main active labour market programmes are:
> s Job Network: The Job Network is a national network of around 200 private, community and government organisations contracted by the Commonwealth Government to deliver employment services. It delivers five general services, namely job matching, job search training, intensive assistance (which provides an individually tailored assistance to more disadvantaged job seekers), the New Enterprise Incentive Schemes and project contracting.
> s Work for the Dole (Community Work Co-ordinators).
> s Indigenous Employment Policy.
> s Community Support Programme.
> s Return to Work.
>
> The Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) fronts its main initiative through the Green Corps programme (Young Australian> '> s for the Environment). State and Territory Governments also purchase and/or provide a range of employment services in their own jurisdictions. The programmes that are developed by the State and Territory Governments are specifically geared or have reference towards youth employment. An overview of most programme names run by State And Territory Governments specifically geared towards youth employment is presented below (by region):
>
> New South Wales
> s Links to Learning Community Grants Program (Helping Early Leavers Program, Circuit Breaker, Koori Youth Program, Time Out).
>
> Victoria
> s Community Business Employment.
> s Government Youth Employment Scheme (YES).
> s Youth Employment Incentive Scheme (YEIS).
>
> Queensland
> s Small Business Employer Incentive Scheme (SBEIS).
> s Kick-start for Youth.
> s Youth for the Environment and Communities.
> s Community Employment Assistance Program.
>
> Western Australia
> s Aboriginal School-based Traineeship Program.
> s Operation Livewire.
> s Job Works.
> s Priority Access Policy.
> s Access All Areas.
>
> South Australia
> s New Apprenticeship Access Training Program (NAAP).
> s Youth Recruitment Initiative (Public Sector Graduate Program).
> s Youth Employment Program.
> s State Government Youth Training Scheme.
> s Traineeship Support Program.
> s Graduate Positioning Scheme (GPS).
> s Enterprise and Career Foundation (ECEF).
> s Up-skill SA.
> s Small Business Employer Incentive Scheme (SBEIS).
> s Kick-start for Youth.
>
> Tasmania
> s Local Government Seed Funding Program
>
> Entrepreneurship
> Entrepreneurship programmes are run by the DEWSRSB and at the State and Territory Government level. Two examples are put forward here.
> s New Enterprise Incentive Scheme
> As part of the Job Network programme, New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) assists unemployed people who have an idea for a business to become self employed, with assessment of business proposals, training, business advice and mentoring support over a 12 month period while a NEIS allowance (equivalent to unemployment payments) is paid to selected job seekers. These services are currently offered from over 350 sites with about 6,800 participants annually.
> s Self Starter Program
> In South Australia the Self Starter Program has been initiated to enhance self-employment prospects for unemployed youth by providing small business training to help develop a business plan, and a small grant to assist with the establishment of the business.
>
> Employability
> Employability programmes are also run by the DEWRSB and at the State and Territory Government level. They are designed not only to improve the skills available for potential employers, but also their skills in finding suitable employment, non-tangible skills (motivation, self-assuredness) and experience. Two examples are put forward here.>
>
> s Green Corps Programme
> The Green Corps Programme (Young Australians for the Environment), run by the DETYA and funded by the Federal Government, provides skill development, work experience and links with potential employers, for young Australians aged between 17 and 20 years. The programme targets young people in the transition between schooling and either further study or employment. Participants are provided with the opportunity to develop and demonstrate skills that enhance their chances of finding employment, For example, they develop skills such as time management, working as a team member, decision-making and problem resolution. Projects are community based and are of six months duration, with ten young people participating in each project. In 2000-2001, 174 projects were undertaken across Australia. The programme has been implemented nationally by the private sector. It has been funded by the public sector which is also responsible for programme development and contract management.
> s Aboriginal School-based Traineeship Program
> The Aboriginal School-based Traineeship Program in Western Australia focuses on increasing school retention and the reduction of unemployment amongst the related aboriginal communities. The educational and vocational training focus is set up so that students undertake this 2-year programme on part-time basis. In other words they participate in 2 days at school, 2 days with an employer and 1 day in vocational training.
>
> Number of participants
> DEWSRSB
> In the year to end of March 2001 the number of participants in programmes that were young people (15-24 years) was approximately:
> s 68,780 in Intensive Assistance.
> s 25,500 in Job Search Training.
> s 27,480 in Work for the Dole.
>
> State and Territory Government programmes
> For many programmes data has not been available for this paper. A number of programmes have been listed here to provide an indication of the volume of programmes.
> s Links to Learning Community Grants Program assists 7,000 people in 92 projects.
> s Government Youth Employment Scheme (YES) will make 650 placements available in 2001/2002.
> s Kick-start for Youth (Queensland) has 500 school leavers in areas of high unemployment.
> s Youth Recruitment Initiative had 600 graduates over 1998-2001 for induction into State public service.
> s Small Business Employer Incentive Scheme 1500 incentives were allocated and provided between 1998/99 and 1999/2000.
> s Youth for the Environment and Communities has 1200 traineeships in environmental protection, horticulture and waste management.
>
> Expenditures
>
> DEWSRSB
> It is difficult to estimate the exact amount of money allocated to active labour market programmes for youth in Australia as the amount allocated to programmes is not broken down into client groups. Below is the estimated expenditure on all employment programmes for all age groups.
>
> Budget Estimate 2001-2002 (in Australian Dollars)
> Job Network $904m
> Community Support Programme $ 26m
> Work for the Dole $107m
> Return to Work $ 5m
> Indigenous employment programmes $ 53m
>
> State and Territory Government programmes
> For many programmes data has not been available for this paper. A number of programmes have been listed here to provide an indication of the level of spending (in Australian Dollars) for different programmes.
> s Government Youth Employment Scheme (YES) spends a Federal training subsidy of $1250 for each trainee.
> s Kick-start for Youth (Queensland) pays up to $6000 for intensive specialised employment and training assistance, including a $4000 wages subsidy paid to employers.
> s Youth for the Environment and Communities provides funding of up to $16,000 to public sector organisations and not-for-profit community organisations for each additional trainee they appoint in the areas of environmental protection, horticulture and waste management.>
>
> Best Practice Example: Job Placement, Employment and Training Programme (JPET)
> The Job Placement, Employment and Training Programme (JPET) was specifically designated for youth and above serving as a placement function, also functions to improve employability skills.
>
> s JPET is aimed at assisting students and unemployed young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, or facing similar severe problems, in ways which not only help them with their income and personal support needs, but which also ensure they secure career paths and sustainable futures.
> s The project is targeted towards 15-21 years (priority to 15-19 years), males and females, homeless or at risk of homelessness, refugees, those in State Care or formerly in State Care and ex-offenders.
> s There are 137 Service Providers and approximately 200 workers based in 185 locations across Australia. It provided services to more than 15,000 young disadvantaged Australians in 2000-01.
> s Funding was provided by the Australian government to the value of over $20 million and the case management was carried out by the private sector on a client base.
>
> Monitoring and evaluation
> The Australian Government through Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs has been monitoring the programme. Independent consultants by means of a nation-wide tender process have conducted evaluation.
>
> The objectives of the programme have been achieved and these are derived from the results attained
> s Positive outcomes in relation to accommodation, education, training, employment and income.
> s Very cost-effective compared with four other Australian Government programmes
> s JPET is seen as an important role in early intervention and prevention of long term welfare dependency.
>
> The results were successfully attained due to a number of factors, namely: block funding; individual case plans were developed; links with other local service providers and employers; it identified pathways for assistance; assists clients regarding income support (obtaining it/maintaining it/compliance requirements). The major debilitating factor has been lack of local services that were able to be purchased for rural and remote clients.
>
> Recommendations
> Short term funding should be avoided, as this is not cost effective or supportive of client success. Employers should be encouraged to offer more work experience placements.
> Problematical and disadvantaged groups require more intensive support from programmes such as JPET.
>
> Other best practices
> Amongst the other best practice examples submitted some important results and lessons will be forwarded here.
>
> The Green Corps programme
> s The Green Corps programme previously highlighted achieved improved self-esteem (89%) and perceived improvements in employment opportunities (87%) by the participants. Whereas 58% of the participants were unemployed before participating, 69% of the participants had found employment three months subsequent to completing their placement.
> s Individuality must be recognised in the development of case plans.
> s It may be necessary for young people to re-enter programme at various stages in their transition to training or employment readiness.
>
> Specialist Intensive Assistance Job Network
> s The Job Network member provides a range of tailored assistance for young job seekers. This can include using fees to provide vocational training, work experience, job matching, relocation assistance and language and literacy training. The young people being assisted receive an integrated service from a single provider. The goal is to help them achieve sustainable employment outcomes, that is employment of at least 13 weeks that results in the job seeker no longer receiving income support.
> s In the Job Network Member Ratings published at the end of August 2001, the organisation was rated as four and one half stars (on a five star rating scale). The ratings are based upon the above-mentioned objectives.>
> s Some young people are not aware of the options available to them. A service tailored to the needs of young people to assist them in obtaining employment is more effective in attaining employment.
>
> Work for the Dole
> s The main objective of the Work for the Dole programme is to give unemployed people worthwhile work experience opportunities in projects of value to local communities.
> s A secondary objective of the programme is to allow unemployed people to satisfy their mutual obligation in return for their unemployment payments, by giving something back to the community which supports them. Mutual obligation is a broad strategy for job seekers which aims to assist them back to work. It encourages more active job search and participation in activities which improve work skills and habits. Since 1997, almost 7 thousand > '> Work for the Dole> '> projects have been approved for funding by the department. This represents 148,428 placements for job seekers. The age group 17-24 years consists of 57.5% of all commencements in work from 1 July 2000 to September 2001.
> s Work for the Dole participants are more likely to leave income support than similar job seekers who have not participated in the programme. The Work for the Dole net impact study (2000) found that the off benefit outcome averaged 30 per cent compared with 17 per cent for the control group. In other words, Work for the Dole participants are 76 per cent more likely to leave benefits than those who have not participated in the programme. The vast majority (80-90 per cent) leave benefits for a job or education or training.
> s A focus on work experience and attaining work habits, combined with ongoing job search are core elements of ALMPs for youth. Vocational training can also be beneficial for many young job seekers but in many circumstances the training can be provided on-the-job after the young person has secured employment.
> s Work for the Dole improves participants> '> self-esteem, confidence, and motivation. This has been demonstrated by the Work for the Dole pilot evaluation (1999), and the 1999 post-programme monitoring survey.
>
>
> 3.3 Conclusions
> The detail of information we received from the contact persons differed substantially, both in quantity as in quality. Nevertheless, we can make a couple of clear observations. It is obvious that most countries are in an early stage of developing programmes specifically targeted at youth (Australia and New Zealand are clear exceptions). For them, initiating and implementing these labour market programmes is still in a phase of learning by doing. Since ALMPs do not have a strong tradition, which is true for most countries in the region, many programmes had to be built up nearly from scratch. Therefore, it was not a big surprise for us that quite a number of responses showed a clear emphasis on the employment services. In the previous chapter we already made the remark that the employment service is often seen as the first link in the ALMP chain. It was interesting to observe that the most advanced countries (Australia and New Zealand) have programmes that are specifically designed and targeted towards various disadvantaged groups. Another topic that showed up in a number of responses concerned the way of implementation of the programmes. An integrated approach in which there are multiple partnerships is clearly favoured. Remarks like > '> a varied menu> '> , a > '> combination of programmes> '> , > '> implementation in a comprehensive manner> '> etc were made more than once and all point to an integral approach. The success of an integral approach depends largely on the willingness and capability of policy makers from different areas to build a strong coalition. But also the availability and reliability of data describing the specific