Poverty, Employment and Globalisation

Adolescents are considered to be an essential aspect in terms of the social and economical stage of any country's development. While it is true that the future economic development of nation depends on harnessing their energy and developing their skills, this view does not take account of the social and economic contribution that many adolescents and young people make today.

There's a unfortunate fact to acknowledge is that many young people are struggling to find adequate employment that can provide them with a safe foothold above the poverty line. Many young people in general are in a better state to take advantage of global development than the previous generation. However, many of them remain excluded from the opportunities afforded by globalization. This is due to lack of appropriate skills and a dearth of work opportunities.

Almost half of the world’s adolescents of appropriate age do not attend secondary school. And when they do attend, many of them fail to complete their studies or finish with insufficient skills – especially those high-level competencies that are increasingly required by the modern globalized economy. This skills deficit is contributing to bleak youth economic employment trends. 

In August 2010, the International Labour Organization released the latest edition of Global Employment Trends for Youth, whose central objective was the impact of the global economic crisis on youth aged 15–24. In its report, it summarized the long-term trends of youth participation in the work force between 1998 and 2008. Youth unemployment is a significant concern in almost every national economy. Prior to the crisis, youth unemployment rates were falling and stood at just over 12 per cent in 2008. At the same time, the youth population has grown at a faster pace than the available employment opportunities. In 2008, youth were almost three times as likely to be unemployed as adults, and suffered disproportionately from a deficit of decent work. This is an unfortunate fact not because decent work can provide adolescent boys and girls with opportunities to develop and learn responsibilities and resources but will be useful to them throughout their lives.