Why
Despite rapid urbanization in many countries, around 46 per cent of the world’s population, many of them young people, live in rural areas. Young women and men can be catalysts for economic growth and development in rural economies, but only if they have access to decent work. Some of the barriers they typically face include low incomes, hazardous and precarious working conditions, and limited or no access to social protection. Ensuring that rural youth have access to an abundance and variety of quality jobs is not just important for their personal wellbeing, but also key to reducing poverty and achieving global food security in the coming decades.
HOW
Investing in decent jobs for rural youth can catalyze economic growth and development in rural economies as a whole. At Decent Jobs for Youth, our approach centres on developing and supporting efficient agribusiness, value chains and entrepreneurship models. Another key focus area is ensuring that young people have access to productive resources, such as land, technology and financial services. These efforts are complemented by strengthening policies and programmes so that the rural economy benefits from a skilled youth labour force and a positive business climate.
Who
The FAO and the ILO are committed to lead this thematic priority. Decent Jobs for Youth brings together a growing number of partners who are committed to boost labour market outcomes and unleash the potential of youth in the rural economy.
Capacity Building, Research and Policy Engagement
The overall objective of PEP’s commitment is to support and increase evidence-based policy making in nine African countries. The immediate objective is to develop the capacity of local experts to produce a reliable evidence base on youth employment issues, while engaging with policy to ensure uptake in decision and advisory processes. PEP will support local researchers to carry out contextualized research and policy engagement activities through nine projects supported by PEP’s current core donors: DFID, IDRC and Hewlett Foundation. The commitment will run for three years from January 2020 to December 2022.
Create sustainable change for young entrepreneurs
YBI aims to support 1 million young people (18-35 years) to start, strengthen and grow sustainable businesses by 2025. Its global network of expert organisations is present in 50 countries across 6 continents, working to develop new solutions to the critical challenges facing young entrepreneurs. In turn, they help to create more jobs, strengthen communities and foster sustainable development, impacting SDG5 (Gender Equality), SDG8 (Decent Work), and SDG10 (Reduced Inequalities). YBIs work is supported by Accenture, Citi Foundation and Inter-American Bank Group who have been instrumental in helping them increase the impact of their network.