Mia Seppo: Building a world where young people can achieve decent work
2024-08-19
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China Youth Daily Client News (China Youth Daily, China Youth Network Intern Reporter Zhao Limei, Reporter Yang Jie) On August 15, the 2024 World Youth Development Forum on Digital Development was held in Chongqing. Mia Seppo, Assistant Director-General of the International Labor Organization, said in a video speech: "Let us work together to build a world where all young people can achieve decent work under the framework of the 'Global Youth Decent Jobs Initiative' cooperation platform."
August 12 is International Youth Day. The latest report released by the International Labor Organization, "Global Youth Employment Trends 2024" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"), shows that in 2023, the global youth unemployment rate will be 13%, equivalent to 64.9 million people, down from 13.8% in 2019, reaching the lowest level in 15 years. It is expected that the global youth unemployment rate will further drop to 12.8% this year and next.
Although the global youth unemployment rate is declining, the proportion of "NEET" youth (no work, no education, no training) is still high, and there is still a large gap between regions and genders. Mia Sepo said that according to the International Labor Organization, there are currently nearly 270 million young people aged 15 to 24 who are "NEET" youth in the world. "What makes the problem even more urgent is that 2 out of every 3 NEET youth are women."
For young people who are already employed, achieving decent employment remains a major challenge. Mia Seppo pointed out that, especially in low-income countries, a large number of young workers can only find temporary jobs.
On August 15, in Chongqing, at the venue of the 2024 World Youth Development Forum on Digital Development, Chinese and foreign guests applauded after the keynote speech. Photo by Li Zhengxu, a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network
In order to ensure that young people enjoy the benefits of digitalization and have decent employment, Mia Sepo suggested that the world should work together in three aspects: strengthening youth skills development, promoting digital economy to create jobs, and protecting youth rights. "Strengthening (youth) skills development, let us regard skills development as the 'driver' and 'equalizer' of digital transformation." Mia Sepo said that the digital economy provides a lot of opportunities for young people, bringing wage growth and self-employment. According to the International Labor Organization, if investment in network connectivity is strengthened, at least 6.4 million jobs can be created for young people by 2030, benefiting young people in Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. She said: "Let us work with employers in the digital economy and more fields to improve human resources policies, attach importance to digital skills, and retain young talents." "Finally, it is crucial to protect the rights and interests of young people and listen to their voices." Mia Sepo said that digitalization has led to the rise of gig work, but also some problems have arisen, causing concerns among employees in terms of fairness, protection and rights. Therefore, while promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship in the digital economy, the world should also be committed to jointly promoting high-quality employment.
Source: China Youth Daily Client
