VietNamNet Bridge – Unemployment rates among young people more than three times higher than among elders.

According to a recent report entitled “The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2013” launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland on April 9, nearly half of the unemployed in the country last year were aged between 15 and 24.

“It is not easy to be young in the labour market today”, said ILO Vietnam Director Gyorgy Sziraczki. “The economic crunch has unfortunately hard hit the most dynamic generation of workers.”

But youth unemployment is only the peak of the iceberg. Four million or over 53 per cent of young people are in vulnerable employment. They are self-employed or work as contributing family workers, which are typically low-productivity jobs with meagre income, poor working conditions and lack of social protection.

The ongoing reform of the education and training system is key to tapping the talent, energy and creativity of young women and men for dynamic growth.

“A national vocational and technical education system that promotes the employability of youth and meets the present and future needs of businesses is essential to productivity growth, increased competitiveness and job creation,” said Mr Sziraczki.  “It is time to strengthen the link between education and training and export growth, economic diversification and creation of more and better jobs.”

Unlocking the potential of small- and medium-sized enterprises through cutting red tape and providing finance and business support services is another way to promote productive job opportunities for young people.

According to Matthieu Cognac, ILO Asia-Pacific Youth Employment Specialist, attention should also be directed to rural areas where the majority of young people live and work. “Employment counselling, entrepreneurship courses and business mentoring could help many young people to start and grow their own business.”

According to the ILO Viet Nam director, Vietnam’s youth employment challenges cannot be tackled without promoting structural change to unleash growth, macroeconomic policies and fiscal incentives that support employment and stronger aggregate demand, improve access to finance and increase productive investment. “Young people deserve a better start and equal treatment, otherwise Vietnam would lose huge contribution to its socio-economic development”, he said.

The report also shows that the world rate of youth unemployment is projected to increase by 13 per cent in 2013, closed to 73 million young people.

Source: VOV