Youth Unemployment Gap Can Be Bridged through Education, Inclusion

Youth make up about 40 percent of the world’s unemployed

In the Middle East and North Africa, one-third of young people cannot find work

Recipe for success: passion, confidence, and connections

There are more young men and women who are educated, more proficient with technology, and more adaptable than any other generation, yet they face greater difficulties in finding a job, said, IMF Deputy Managing Director Carla Grasso in opening remarks. She spoke about the potential of the 1.8 million young people around the world to shape our global future and pointed to an “apparent mismatch between the skills employers and businesses are looking for and what young people are learning at schools, universities, and vocational training centers.”

Challenging employment outlook

Journalist and moderator of the discussion Ahmed Shihab-Eldin posed a number of questions to youth leaders from Africa, Asia, and Latin America on the current challenges of youth unemployment and their views on possible solutions.

Access to technology and the internet and to networking and learning tools, as well as having globally connected institutions that bring best practices featured prominently in the discussion. Mariel Renteria, the 2015 President of CADE Universitario, Peru, said one of the great challenges is connecting and networking with people who can inspire. She was optimistic about gender equality and saw increasing number of women who were successful in technology. She thought that Peru could be more connected globally as “only a small percentage of Peruvians have access to technology,” particularly with regard to access to education online.

Education and the role of teachers, unequal access to employment opportunities and a “brain drain” with young people seeking opportunities abroad also played a role. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, African entrepreneur and co-founder of Andela, a software training company based in Nigeria that connects top employers with untapped talent in Africa, claimed the main reason for unemployment is that the education system is not aligned to the job market. But with the current influx of capital to Africa, youth have a great opportunity to...