Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) commits to generate new evidence on boosting decent employment for Africa’s youth by 2022.

Boosting Decent Employment for Africa’s Youth is IDRC’s commitment to the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, in response to a lack of research to guide policies and interventions on youth employment in Africa. The commitment is a three-year partnership of the IDRC, the Dutch Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development Policies (INCLUDE), and the International Labour Organization (ILO). It is a research initiative that supports cutting-edge research projects to generate rigorous evidence on soft skills, digital jobs and work-based learning to boost decent jobs for youth.

The commitment will be featured and announced during the second edition of the Youth Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment (YES) Forum on 20th November 2019 in the context of the World Export Development Forum 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The IDRC has announced the selection of eight research projects in nine sub-Saharan African countries, chosen from among 375 applications. The in-depth research, which involves more than 65 multidisciplinary researchers based at 18 research institutions, focuses on generating new evidence, sharing knowledge and advocating for evidence-informed policy-making and programming.

The IDRC is a knowledge partner of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. It is a Canadian Crown corporation funding research in developing countries to advance knowledge and solve practical development problems. The partnership with INCLUDE and the ILO aims to foster deepen the evidence base, provide a space for dialogue and knowledge exchange, create synergies and scale up action at country level.

The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Decent Jobs for Youth was launched in 2016 as a UN system-wide effort, focusing on the youth employment challenge that is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It has emerged as a global, multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together governments, social partners, the private sector, youth and civil society organizations, and others. They work together to share knowledge, leverage resources and take action at country and regional level, to support young people in accessing decent work and productive employment worldwide.

To find out more about the research initiative, read the brochure or browse the initiative's webpage.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Mylène Bordeleau, program officer I IDRC I mbordeleau@idrc.ca

Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth I decentjobsforyouth@ilo.org