The need to tackle the global skills gaps, invest in social protection systems for all and embrace sustainable financing mechanisms for employment was the cruxat the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers & #39; meeting.
At the two-day meeting, hosted by India, the ministers agreed on specific policy priorities to accelerate progress to address the challenges and set policy options on employment.
Though Nigeria is not part of the G20 countries, some of the recommendations made at the summit were critical to addressing some of the nation’s challenges.
Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Gilbert Houngbo, said the global decent work divide is deepening in the face of global
shocks and risks, and leaving low-income countries behind. He said there is a need to embrace sustainable financing mechanisms for
employment and social protection policies to close growing fractures in the global labour market and reduce inequalities.
He said to tackle the situation and promote social justice, more global resources must be mobilised. He proffered initiatives such as the United Nations (UN) Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, to play a pivotal role in generating the necessary technical and financial support.
Such endeavours, he said, need to be part of a broader reform of the international financial architecture to make more resources available for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Talking about the Antalya Youth target of reducing the share of young people
who are most at risk of being permanently left behind in the labour market by 15 per cent by 2025, Houngbo told the ministers that the young people aged 15 to 29 who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET rate) was back to or below its pre-pandemic level and that 12 G20 members were on track to achieve the target.
To make further progress and to tackle gender inequality in particular, the ILO chief said action must focus on promoting more and better employment for the youth by investing in economic sectors with high youth employment potential and improving the quality of employment to provide incentives for labour market participation.
According to him, investments in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and quality apprenticeships, as well as combining active labour
market policies with income support are also very important to reach the most disadvantaged youth.
The ministers discussed ways to address skills gaps to increase productivity and wages, and also the means to decrease workforce turnover and increase firms’ capabilities to innovate or deploy new technologies.
Director of the ILO Research Department, Richard Samans, said regions where skills gaps are pervasive are also more likely to experience high unemployment. He said: “In a turbulent time, ‘investment in people’ restores the trust in institutions and helps build a new social contract.
Therefore, massive investment in skills is needed more than ever, as we face the need to achieve socially just green and digital transitions.
The global jobs gap encompasses all individuals wanting to work but not necessarily actively looking for work. That global jobs gap is projected at 453 million people in 2023, which is made up of 191 million, who are unemployed globally, as well as 262 million people who want to work but do not qualify as unemployed. This shows the magnitude of the employment challenges that the world faces.
The indicator also reveals a significant disparity between gender, with women experiencing a much higher jobs gap rate (at 14.5 percent) than men.
Low-income countries have the highest jobs gap rate at 21.5 per cent. In stark contrast, high-income countries have the lowest rate at 8.2 per cent.
So what is alarming for us is that low-income countries have witnessed a steady rise in the jobs gap rate over the past years, from 19 per cent in 2005, increasing to 21.5 percent in 2023.
In other words, investing in national social protection systems, based on equitable and sustainable financing through taxes and social contributions, is imperative to close the growing divides.
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