United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)
Address:
UN-ESCWA
PO Box: 11-8576
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel: 961-1-981301
Fax: 961-1-981510
Activity Title:
Youth Employment and Skills Acquisition in the Arab World Under Globalization.
Prepared By:
Submitted at: “The Sectoral Meeting on Youth and Employment between UN Systems and the League of Arab States and its Specialized Agencies”, Beirut –Lebanon.
Date:
23-25 May 2000
Brief:
Globalization, when translated into labor terms, implies competitiveness and improving productivity. Looking at the productivity of Arab labour, indicators show that it has been declining over the past two decades. This fact is evident in the growing rates of unemployment and underemployment. The hardest hit segments of the population in this respect are the new entrants into the labour market: the youth.
Rapid globalization and fast-paced technological progress present new challenges. The heightened competition and economic changes resulting from technological advances and global economic integration are causing difficulties in maintaining the employability of large segments of a country’s labour force. At the same time, these new forces are creating new opportunities for increased economic growth and employment. However, it is the level and quality of a country’s labour skills that are becoming the critical factors in taking advantages of the opportunities and also minimizing the social costs of globalization.
The objective of the Study is to investigate the situation of youth employment in the countries of the ESCWA region, while taking into consideration the changes occurring in the global markets. The study concludes that upgrading the level of skills in Arab countries is the principal way to alleviate the underemployment of youth.
Activity Title 2:
Youth Employment in the ESCWA Region
Prepared By:
Submitted at: "The Youth Employment Summit", Alexandria, Egypt.
Date:
7-11 September 2002,
Brief:
The paper addressed the following:
1. Challenges Facing Youth Employment;
2. Main Features of Current Situation of Youth Unemployment;
3. Consequences of Youth Unemployment;
4. Critical Areas Requiring Attention;
5. Good Practices in the ESCWA Region.
Review of the Youth Situation in the ESCWA Region from the Perspective of Human Resources Development.
Date:
11 December 2000
Brief:
This study was prepared as a background paper presented at the Arab Youth Forum, aimed at strengthening the capacities of Arab youth NGOs in the ESCWA region. The Forum took place at the UN House in Beirut, June 2001, prior to the Fourth Session of the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System, August, Dakar 2001.The study targeted Arab NGOs and all Arab policy makers concerned with youth in their continuing endeavor to lobby for a balanced and sustainable national youth policies. The study focused at the main priority issues related to Arab youth, such as human resources development, education, health and employment. It aimed at updating youth indicators in the ESCWA region, and has briefly illustrated the overall situation of human resources development and gender mainstreaming with regard to youth in the region.
Recommendations:
The paper didn’t intend to suggest mechanisms to formulate national policies. However, based on its findings, the recommendations made aimed at lobbying all sectors of society (including the youth themselves) to work towards better and more equitable youth policies in the individual countries of the ESCWA region. In addition, the recommendations, listed below, have stressed the importance of the field assessment of youth-oriented projects at the beneficiary level:
1. Gender-sensitive human resources development policies are required in the future;
2. The imbalance between economic and social development demands special attention. ESCWA member countries are requested to formulate more balanced and sustainable development through investments in health and education, the formation of a qualified labour force, and the development of human resources that focuses on the participation of youth and women;
3. In order to reduce the dropout rate of youth in poor communities, efforts should be made to mobilize community and parent support, and a particular emphasis should be accorded to rural girls. Primary schools also should be effectively accessible to all children, and dropouts should be minimized, by providing various incentives to the poor, such as schools meals, and flexible study hours;
4. The quality of education, in particular that of higher education in the ESCWA region should be assessed critically, and curricula should be constantly upgraded to keep abreast of the information and technology revolution;
5. Regarding the educational specializations of Arab women, Arab women’s representation in natural sciences, engineering, medicine, computer sciences and other technological fields should be promoted.
6. Failure of human resources planning is reflected in a mismatch between labour market needs and training. There is an urgent need to match the quality and quantity of labor supply to market demand. In this regard, more emphasis should be placed on matching the vocational and technical training and education of youth to meet labour market requirements;
7. There is a direct connection between youth unemployment and many of the ills of society, including crime, drug abuse, vandalism and social unrest. The countries of the region should make an effort to set up national plans to encourage the entrepreneurship and self-employment of youth, such as enhancing micro-credit institutions and introducing tax concessions;
8. Recognizing the rapid change in life styles among Arab youth and the potential health risks they face, efforts should be geared towards providing them with the information they need. Information and advocacy campaigns targeting youth are especially needed in the area of HIV/AIDS, smoking, drug addiction and traffic accidents. Health education should be part of all new school curricula;
9. The problems related to consanguineous marriages in the region could be alleviated, by making proper genetic counseling neadily accessible to young couples before marriage.
