Introduction. Definition of Key Terms. Forum: Special Committee 1. The question of youth unemployment. Student Officer: Irene Yang, Hend Mansi

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1 Forum: Special Committee 1 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar th 14 th of April 2018 Issue: The question of youth unemployment Student Officer: Irene Yang, Hend Mansi Position: Deputy Chairs Introduction The question of youth unemployment does not simply mean the younger generation being unemployed and unable to make an income. As stated by the UN, it is the unemployment of young people, from the age of There are many reasons behind the debate of this, most possibly due to the fact that depending on the background people come from, this argument can be seen in completely different ways. Many problems lie within this case, such as the link between education and employment. A recent study has shown that among MEDCs, the highest unemployment rate was situated more or less centrally in relation to people who had received primary education or less. However, this doesn t mean that receivers of a high level of education are guaranteed a job. But even within this, there are gender inequality problems. Young women and girls make up the majority of the 628 million young individuals who are not taking part in any form of employment, education or training. One example is Saudi Arabia, the unemployment rate between women who have received university education is eight times higher than men with the same degree of education. The highest unemployment rates of women mostly happen in LEDCs as they often have family issues which stop them from finishing their primary or secondary education or further get a job such as religion or traditions, hence causing unequal opportunities of employment between young men and women. Another reason which explains why the youth unemployment rate is so low is due to the fact many employers have a stereotypical thought that juvenile individuals are inefficient and unskilled therefore even when employed, only give them the responsibility of minor jobs. Also, as minimum wage increases on average throughout the world, many employers are on a strike for hiring teens who fill lower priority positions and sometimes pay them less than the minimum wage set by the government. Businesses, especially small-scale ones cannot afford to employ inexperienced, unskilled teens due to the rise in minimum pay. The UN concluded that 23% of teens which are hired are earning less than minimum wage, however, do not have power over their income as their rights are not strictly outlined by the law. Definition of Key Terms Research Report Page 1 of 10

2 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar 2018 Youth unemployment The unemployment of individuals between the ages of 15-24, set by the UN. An unemployed individual is one who does not have a job but is actively seeking for one. Lost Generation Refers to the unemployed young individuals of the generation due to the fact that it also has long term impacts, both direct and indirect. This lost generation can have an impact on earnings for up to 20 years in lost wages and economic development. Gender gaps The methodical differences in the result men and women attain in the labor market. Further on, the differences in attitudes, opinions or opportunities which is prejudiced to a particular gender. Youth bulge A situation where the youth population, ages between exceeds 20% of the population. Austerity measures Austerity measures are the governmental actions taken in times of a financial crisis or during a period of unstable economic conditions in order to reduce budgets by tax rises or reducing jobs etc. Background Information The direction of youth unemployment rates over the years since 1993 are different depending on the region. Although in most regions, statistics show that there has been a drop in the unemployment rate, in North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, they have been on the rise since Countries in these regions which can be considered as LEDCs have possibly shown these statistics due to many macroeconomic factors such as rising minimum wages or tax payment. Many small scale businesses belong in these regions, making it naturally a hard environment to hire teens as the companies themselves too aren t very economically or financially stable. But also simply because they believe that teens aren t as committed as adults to their assigned job. It is true however, that young individuals are more likely to resign from the job to seek for more opportunities and experiences and in that process, companies indeed do lose money. Poverty In 2012, 1.1 billion people were living in poverty, unemployed or both. Currently, global unemployment stands at around 200 million and in addition to the challenges associated with the 200 million, an estimated number of 400 million people are expected to join the labour market in the next decade, most Page 2 of 10 Research Report

3 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar th 14 th of April 2018 of them being the age between Higher youth unemployment rates are associated with rise in various crimes such as burglary, theft and drug usage. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the working poverty rate has nearly hit 70% which is 64.4 million young persons working in the region under modern or extreme poverty. The number of working youth under poverty has increased by 80% in the past 25 years. These people work under extremely hostile conditions and their basic human rights are violated and make an income around the poverty line. In OECDs, these people tend to live far from the city which reduces job opportunities for them. In West Africa, the main issues which need to be overcome are youth unemployment and underemployment. The exclusion of youth in the labour market not only continue the cycle of poverty but it also damages social solidarity and therefore causes higher crimes rates among the vulnerable youth. Poverty leads to desperate measures, often leading to what is commonly and widely known as child labour. Researches have shown that more than half of child labourers take part in perilous work in the agricultural sector. However, progress on SDG8 has been made. The number of youth who are working in hazardous conditions from the age of 5 to 17 has reduced from 246 million to 168 million. Crime Young people have an extremely slim chance of even getting a decent job with low pay. In desperation, they turn to other ways to get money which often is illegal means, usually drug dealing. Higher youth unemployment rates are associated with rise in various crimes such as burglary, theft and drug usage.social evilness can be called one of the consequences of joblessness. These social problems are almost always unpredictable and when they will occur is unknown, but will with no doubt occur when the unemployment rates get out of hand. These fast approaching problems related to youth unemployment are putting governments in a challenge. Governments are trying to provide more job spaces which will hopefully help the young individual to be absorbed in the labour market. Minimum wage Many say and believe that a rise in minimum wage is raising incomes and lifting people from poverty. Although this is true, it is only to an extent. Increase in minimum wage results in less opportunities for employment, creating youth unemployment. When the government sets a minimum wage, it is against the law to pay less than the amount that the government mandates. However, the recent debate is that rise in minimum wage does not have any impact on employment. This may be true for adults, but for the persons defined as youth, it isn t. In 2015, Rainy city in Seattle raised their minimum wages from $9.47 to $11. Studies have shown that this has reduced employment by 1%, for youths, 6.4%. A more extreme case is South Korea, when they increased Research Report Page 3 of 10

4 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar 2018 minimum wage by 16%. So far, 27 million workers are expected to be fired or the labour market to b reduced. Major Countries and Organizations Greece Greece has the highest unemployment rate in Europe with a figure of 43.3%. The unemployment of young Greeks have resulted in the growth of poverty among them. The primary cause behind Greek youth unemployment can be seen as the Greek debt. Due to its rapidly growing debt levels, members of the EU were forced to support Greece with 109 billion. These actions severely impacted the Greek economy, causing a change in minimum wages. This can be seen as one of the overall impacts of poverty in Greece and the rising unemployment rate will also contribute to the rise in poverty rates. As the Greek government and economy continues to worsen and the youth do not get provided with job opportunities, growth of poverty rate in the country will be inevitable. After the international financial meltdown in 2008 which did Greece a lot of damage, their debt has only been getting larger. A consequence of this was a decimated job market and the economy reduced to a quarter of its original size. They have increased tax on consumptions and incomes and cut public sector jobs to an absolutely minimal size. In the past decade, the world has seen some of the worst financial crises in the world. Greece is still suffering from the impact, such as the hastily applied austerity policy. And the biggest victim who are impacted the most by all of this is the younger generation. Generation Y as they call it, is the name given to people who are in their early to late 20s. These are the people who came to age when Greece hit its economic crises, when their futures became dark and their dreams unrealistic. Generation Y is a highly literate, qualified, intelligent generation but due to the crises, have not been able to see their light. Greece is quite unique, as Generation Y is extremely close to becoming a lost generation. The generation has been left in its obscurity and mediocrity despite the fact that the future of Greece is highly dependant on them. South Africa Starting from the 1970s, youth unemployment in South Africa has been on the constant rise. Today, South Africa has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, standing at 27.7%. The situation has shown no progress over the past 8 years despite the immense efforts made towards the issue. Gender and race play a very big role in the employment of individuals in South Africa. Coloured and African youth are in a far more vulnerable position than white youth. Apart from the fact that the youth employment rate in decreasing, recent surveys have shown that more youths have just given up looking for a job. Between 2008 and 2015, the youth who have been discouraged from getting a job increased to 8%. Youth, defined ad individuals between the age of year olds are possibly the most vulnerable group to poverty, social exclusion and chronic unemployment. Page 4 of 10 Research Report

5 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar th 14 th of April 2018 Germany Germany, among all EU member states has the lowest youth unemployment rate. In 2014, their youth unemployment rate was 7.7%, which was the lowest of the EU and the average among member nations was 22.2%. Not only do the Germans take vocational education seriously, but has a policy which states that it is mandatory for all German companies to join a network of allowing young people to actively take part in the labour market by providing them with various opportunities. In addition, it can be said that German workers tend to be more productive due to the fact that German companies are more capital intensive than their EU neighbors. Another success factor which contributes to the German youth unemployment rate is the dual education system, which exists in Austria and Switzerland too. Over 50% of students graduate from dual training programs in which they carry out simultaneously to their academic school program, also gaining work experience rather than attending separate classes. This provides internship, job opportunities and brings closer contact to the job market and more reliability when it comes to qualifications. Papua New Guinea The country currently faces a challenging future due to its youth bulge. Not only is 40% of the population living under extreme poverty. Papua New Guinea s population very youthful, with 39% of the population under the age of 15. A study carried out by ILO has shown that 49% of people who are registered as unemployed are under the age of 25. Many young individuals seek for jobs to provide themselves and their families with basic shelter, health care, etc. Economic instability and limitations on the private sector developments make it more difficult for the unemployed to have official fixed jobs. Although international migration is quite low in the country, internal migration is high. Urban areas are largely populated with young people who have come to town in hopes for achieving better education and employment opportunities. Papua New Guinea has one of the greatest youth bulges in the world, majority of them unemployed. This is a factor which has a huge impact on the inevitable growth of poverty rates, rise in social and humanitarian issues and instability of society. International Labour Organization Also going by the name of ILO, their main objective is to focus on labour problems and international labour standards. Regarding the issue at hand, the ILO has undertaken a policy called Call to Action which outlined the objectives the ILO intended to take in order to increase youth unemployment. It debated at the 101st general conference taken place at ILO. The conference concluded that, although facing this problem is urgent, the issue was made up of many connected reasons and needed many solutions to tackle this. The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for the Youth was the first United Nations system wide attempt in promoting the situation of youth unemployment worldwide. Through this promotion, many global resources along with the help of UN and other global partners have come together in order to Research Report Page 5 of 10

6 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar 2018 increase and maximize the effectiveness of the youth unemployment funds and investments. ILO officials are hoping that this would contribute to member nations to deliver the 2030 Sustainable Development goal. The ILO has gone further and established the Youth Employment Programme (YEP) in order to provide assistance on further developing strong, collaborative interventions to work towards reducing youth unemployment rates. The YEP has claimed they will provide technical assistance especially for LEDCs to formulate and implement national youth employment programmes that will largely focus on employment-intensive investment, development of skills for youngsters and access to employment and training opportunities. European Union More widely known as the EU, they have been working towards solving the problem at hand since April 2013 when they adopted a Council recommendation from the member states. Later in 2016, the EU proposed an extended effort to employ the jobless individuals in order to provide them with better chances to access employment opportunities, receive education and training to meet the desired standards of employers and better chances for learning compulsory skills such as leadership and participation. As a body of the EU, the Youth Employment Initiative works more specifically towards the question of youth employment. It was established in February 2013 when the European council made a decision to create the YEI to increase the EU financial support on Youth unemployment. Further in April 2013, the EU formally adopted the YOuth Guarantee recommendation to make certain the youths transition from education to work goes smoothly. They are the central body of supporting the European Union with financial issues regarding the problems they work for. YEI soley supports young people who are currently not taking part in any education, training or employment programs and all those who are not registered as job seekers. They will fund provisions of traineeships, apprenticeships, job opportunities and further education leading to a qualification. Timeline of Events Date October 24, 1929 September 2th, September 15th, Description of event The stock market crash, one of the causes of the great depression. End of the world war II declared the end of the great depression. The global youth unemployment rate struggles around the percentage numbers of 12 to 12.3, rising up and dropping back down. The financial crisis began with the crash of the investment bank Lehman Brothers. The global youth unemployment rate remaining stuck in the same position, 12.7%. Page 6 of 10 Research Report

7 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar th 14 th of April 2018 April 2013 September 9th, Youth Guarantee recommendation officially approved and adopted. Globally, 73 million youth are unemployed registered. This number is pretty low considering most youth are not registered. Global unemployment for youth is remaining at the percentage that it was founded in 2012, 12.7%. Due to the effects that youth unemployment bestows, the want to migrate rate in sub-saharan African countries goes up to 77%. Relevant UN Treaties and Events United Nations Economic and Social Council Resolution on Promoting Youths Employment, 2006/15 (Ref. E/2006/26) European Parliament Resolution on European Action to Combat Youths Unemployment 2013/2673(RSP) United Nations General Assembly Resolution on Promoting Youths Employment, 18 December 2002/57/165(RSP) Security Council, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2250(2015) Previous Attempts to solve the Issue International Youth Foundation & The International Labor Organisation The existing attempts to combat this issue include IYF s work and the ILO. These two organisations work to expand youth s employment, and this is completed by setting up programs in order to train unemployed youth for the job market. The Passing of Resolutions The UN s ECOSOC and General Assembly continuously pass resolutions that provide solutions in fighting this issue, like nation plans to combat the issue, reminders to governments that they are held responsible for educating new generations, and the promotion of youth employment. These resolutions include asking legislative bodies, agent young people associations, managers and specialist' associations and common society teammates with instructive establishments to guarantee that the training frameworks furnish their understudies with the abilities they requirement for the workforce. EU official reported in February 2013 a seven-year intend to ensure all youngsters work, preparing, promote instruction or a temporary position inside four months of leaving school. Germany s Encouragement Research Report Page 7 of 10

8 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar 2018 Germany's Prime Minister Angela Merkel has encouraged different nations to take after the German style of training that spotlights on apprenticeships in any case; then again, inhabitants of the EU have pointed the finger at her for the financial hardship because of her grimness arrangements. Germany is resolved to shake that notoriety by rolling out more market-orientated improvements instead of state-made employments programs. Possible Solutions Access To Internet and Provided Education Access to internet is a vital tool in this situation, a possible solution could be universal access to internet and cheaper technology. This will open doors for youth in the aspect of education, as the internet is a powerful tool that is able to be used in this area. Online courses are also another solution, as these courses could be provided by the government not only literally but as well as virtually. As mentioned previously, education is a powerful tool, in specific the issue at hand. In previous resolutions providing courses on the job market for youth was suggested, however it must be implemented. Creating vital education tools for young people in need of jobs could be created by legislative bodies without any fee could be a possible solution. The Creation of Organisations More and programs like Youth Business International could be spread world wide, in order for people who are starting in specific industries to have the option of not relying on banks with funding them. These organisations provide the support youth needs in order to begin building their enterprises, and as well as increasing they re income overall. Courses Specific To Skill Matching and Checkups The creation of teaching programmes and courses was mentioned, and this is used to build education and common knowledge for youth. However, specific courses for skill matching must be implemented as well. This will prepare these people for the jobs they actually enjoy, and will help them build ideas better and more thoroughly. These courses will help find youth s interest points. Business is struggling with the mismatch of skill, therefore this will be extremely helpful. This issue, like most in the UN, is not something that can be solved overnight. Whatever the solution, it will take time to be implemented and carried further and there should always be checkups to update the resolutions. Bibliography Global Employment Trends for Youth Rep. International Labour Organization, 03 Jan Web. < dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_ pdf>. Page 8 of 10 Research Report

9 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar th 14 th of April 2018 Youth Unemployment: Challenges and Solutions. Rep. World Economic Forum, Web. < Crowley Lizzy, Katy Jones, Nye Cominetti, and Jenny Gulliford.International Lessons: Youth Unemployment in the Global Context. Rep. The Work Foundation, Jan Web. < ns.pdf>. The ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment Youth Unemployment: The Crisis We Cannot Afford. Rep. CESI, Web. < Bell, David, and David Blanchflower. Youth Unemployment: Déjà Vu? Rep. IZA, Jan Web. < Youth Unemployment. Rep. United Nations Organization, n.d. Web. < GLOBAL EMPLOYMENT TRENDS FOR YOUTH Rep. International Labour Organization, Web. < %20May%2012.pdf>. Global Agenda Councils -Youth Unemployment Visualization Rep. World Economic Forum, Web. < unemployment-visualization- 2013>. REGIONAL OVERVIEW: YOUTH IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC. Rep. United Nations Organization, Web. < regional-escap.pdf>. The Youth Employment Crisis: A Call for Action. Rep. International Labour Office, Web. < 20Crisis.pdf>. J.F. "Why Is Youths Unemployment so High?" The Economist Explains. Economist, 8 May Web. 14 July < Grant, Tavia. The Real Youth Jobs Crisis: Underemployment. The Globe and Mail. 30 Oct Web. < Appendix or Appendices Research Report Page 9 of 10

10 Middle School Model United Nations Qatar 2018 I. (Solutions to Youth Unemployment: Solving Youth Unemployment) This website will come in handy when delegates are coming up with possible solutions to the issue of youth unemployment, and provides great detail for opening speeches/policy statements. I. (YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS) The website provided above furnishes statistics and numbers for the delegates common knowledge about the issue or to be added into their policy statement/opening speech. Page 10 of 10 Research Report