Youth, Employment and Migration

There are more young people in the world today than ever before, 1.3 billion of them living in developing countries.

Young people inject new ideas and energy into the way we do things, but they face incredible challenges as they transition into adulthood, particularly in finding decent work. The global financial crisis and economic downturn have resulted in the largest cohort ever of unemployed youth, with 80.7 million young people struggling to find work in 2009. Many migrate in search of better opportunities, sometimes in dangerous or exploitative conditions.

To address this, the MDG-F supported 15 programmes to improve young people's chances of securing decent work, self-employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, as well as promoting socially inclusive development and respect for youths’ fundamental rights. Initiatives created community employment services, encouraged new job opportunities, promoted legal frameworks and tackled migration with new policies and awareness-raising campaigns.

In the Philippines, where close to 1.5 million young people were unemployed in 2010, the MDG-F provided training and materials on entrepreneurship, life skills and safe migration to thousands of youth, local organizations and secondary schools. In China, which is currently experiencing the largest migration in human history, 70% of migrants in MDG-F project areas were sensitized about protection under national labor laws. Youth Employment Action Plans and Youth Employment Funds were created in many project countries, including Serbia, where nearly 3,000 disadvantaged unemployed youth were trained and placed in jobs.

These programmes worked to achieve MDG 1, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, by promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people.

RESULTS OF OUR WORK:

190,000 youth acquired new skills through training programmes.
642,000 people directly improved their lives as a result of the programmes, among them 127,000 youth, 24,000 migrants and 365,000 boys and girls.

Click here for a complete report of the indicators and results achieved by the MDG-F’s 15 joint programmes on Youth, Employment and Migration.

Success Stories

Analysis of key findings and achievements

This report captures the main achievements and experiences of the MDG-F’s programmes in this thematic window and presents their impact on the lives of communities across five regions. Prepared by an independent expert, the study is based on extensive desk reviews, interviews with selected joint programmes, and a thorough analysis and synthesis of inputs and contributions.

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