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Youth labor market interventions
Comprehensive programs that focus on skills can reduce unemployment and upgrade skills in OECD countries
Jochen Kluve, December 2014Reducing youth unemployment and generating more and better youth employment opportunities are key policy challenges worldwide. Active labor market programs for disadvantaged youth may be an effective tool in such cases, but the results have often been disappointing in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The key to a successful youth intervention program is comprehensiveness, comprising multiple targeted components, including job-search assistance, counseling, training, and placement services. Such programs can be expensive, however, which underscores the need to focus on education policy and earlier interventions in the education system.MoreLess -
Does vocational training help young people find a (good) job?
Systems combining structured learning on the job with classroom training can ease youth unemployment
Werner Eichhorst, January 2015Youth unemployment has increased in many industrialized countries following the recent global recession. However, this reflects not only the cyclical shock, but also the crucial role of institutions in structuring the transition from school to work. Vocational training, in particular in a dual form combining vocational schooling and structured learning on-the-job, is often considered to be one of the most important policy solutions in combating youth unemployment. The evidence available supports this perception, but the institutional requirements of a successful training system also have to be taken into account from a policy perspective.MoreLess -
How can temporary work agencies provide more training?
Staffing agencies could play a more prominent role in the provision of training for the low qualified and previously unemployed
Alexander Spermann, April 2016Temporary work agencies use training as a recruitment and retention argument when qualified labor is scarce. However, short job assignments present a major obstacle for employers and employees to increase investment in training. As temporary agency workers are mainly low-qualified and often previously unemployed, paid work in combination with training should lead to more sustainable employment. Adjustments in labor market institutions could make the provision of training more attractive for both staffing agencies and temporary agency workers.MoreLess -
Do youths graduating in a recession incur permanent losses?
Penalties may last ten years or more, especially for high-educated youth and in rigid labor markets
Bart Cockx, August 2016The Great Recession that began in 2008–2009 dramatically increased youth unemployment. But did it have long-lasting, adverse effects on the careers of youths? Are cohorts that graduate during a recession doomed to fall permanently behind those that graduate at other times? Are the impacts different for low- and high-educated individuals? If recessions impose penalties that persist over time, then more government outlays are justified to stabilize economic activity. Scientific evidence from a variety of countries shows that rigid labor markets can reinforce the persistence of these setbacks, which has important policy implications.MoreLess