By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
The COVID19 pandemic has greatly affected the world economy due to business closures, lost lives, and interrupted operations of the business and even trading.
This calls for the Asia-Pacific governments to urgently adopt large-scale and targeted interventions focusing on labor market policies, including youth-targeted wage subsidies and public employment programs, amid the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on the jobs of young people in the region.
The Asian Development Bank and the International Labour Organization published a report, “Tackling the COVID-19 Youth Employment Crisis in Asia and the Pacific”, citing projections through the end of 2020 in 13 countries showing youth unemployment rates doubling the 2019 rate in some cases.
“A comprehensive and targeted approach to active labor market programs (ALMPs) must be at the center of a youth employment response and recovery package. A range of youth-targeted and gender-responsive ALMPs is needed to ensure that recovery-oriented job creation and employment opportunities for workers have built-in, short-term measures to protect income and enterprises,” it said.
The report said wage subsidies can help young people enter, reenter or remain in the labor market by reducing the costs of recruitment, retention, and training.
Citing the ILO, it added that such subsidies have effectively increased long-term employment prospects for youth, including leading to higher skills, productivity and employment retention.
Likewise, job creation and placement schemes can offer immediate work opportunities to unemployed young women and men during the disease outbreak phase while also maintaining their work readiness through skills interventions.
“Rapid mobilization of community-based voluntary or subsidized placements can also help youth maintain attachment to productive activities, and support communities during the pandemic. Governments in the region are adapting their public employment programs in response to COVID-19,” it added.
The report also underscored the importance of expanding youth access to training, reskilling and upskilling.
“A focus on training is particularly critical when education institutions and workplace learning have been so severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the short term, training is a tool to strengthen labor market mobility and resilience,” it said.
The report said focusing on developing demand-driven skills maximizes the chances of labor market reintegration.
Medium-term investments in training can increase the productivity of youth to help “build back better”, it said.
“Education and training policies play a crucial role in equipping young job seekers with the skills needed in growing occupations and in sectors with employment potential. A key enabler of future recovery will be thus ensuring that education and training policies and systems respond well to labor market demand in growth sectors and occupations,” it added.
Moreover, the report said supporting the youths in employment planning and job search assistance is also imperative.
It said employment services to help young people access relevant information about labor market opportunities will be critical given limited labor demand and disrupted labor market transitions, including from school to work.
“Mobilizing the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to facilitate matching available employment opportunities with young jobseekers, including through digital innovations, can complement public employment services. The recovery phase provides an opportunity to upgrade and digitalize employment services,” it added.