Interventions to increase youth employment: An evidence and gap map

Abstract

Background: Globally, 13% of the youth are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Moreover, this persistent problem has been exacerbated by the shock of Covid-19 pandemic. More youth from disadvantaged backgrounds are likely unemployed than those from better off backgrounds. Thus, the need for increased use of evidence in the design and implementation of youth employment interventions to increase effectiveness and sustainability of interventions and outcomes. Evidence and gap maps (EGMs) can promote evidence-based decision making by guiding policy makers, development partners and researchers to areas with good bodies of evidence and those with little or no evidence. The scope of the Youth Employment EGM is global. The map covers all youth aged 15-35 years. The three broad intervention categories included in the EGM are: strengthening training and education systems, enhancing labour market and, transforming financial sector markets. There are five outcome categories: education and skills; entrepreneurship; employment; welfare and economic outcomes. The EGM contains impact evaluations of interventions implemented to increase youth employment and systematic reviews of such single studies, published or made available between 2000 and 2019. Objectives: The primary objective was to catalogue impact evaluations and systematic reviews on youth employment interventions to improve discoverability of evidence by decision makers, development patterners and researchers, so as to promote evidence-based decision making in programming and implementation of youth employment initiatives. Search Methods: Twenty databases and websites were searched using a validated search strategy. Additional searches included searching within 21 systematic reviews, snowballing 20 most recent studies and citation tracking of 10 most recent studies included in the EGM.Selection Criteria: The study selection criteria followed the PICOS approach of population, intervention, relevant comparison groups, outcomes and study design.

A perspective review on the paradigm shift in Local Economic Development interventions in developmental Uganda

“…Similarly, it has been suggested that there is an overall skills mismatch of over sixty percent among employed youths, with critical deficiencies in a number of aspects such as critical thinking, entrepreneurial and technical abilities. The suggestion appears to be consistent to other revelations from similar studies, such as Mugabi et al (2021) and Apunyo et al (2022). The extent of poverty in the less-developing world is further supported by the fact that a good number of young people in Uganda are unemployable.…”

Job Matching for Youth in Asia and the Pacific

“…Job matching is among the most promising approaches to address the youth employment challenge. Indeed, the literature shows that effective job-matching interventions lead to better employment and earnings outcomes (Apunyo et al 2022, Generation Unlimited 2018, ILO 2020a, Sing and Liu 2020, J-PAL 2018.…”

Service Innovations Targeting NEETs: A Systematic Review

“…Globally, 13% of young people belong to the not in education, employment or training (NEET) category (Apunyo et al, 2022). This means that they are unemployed or inactive and not receiving any formal or non-formal education or training in a given period (Elder, 2015;Eurostat, 2022).…”