Reducing youth unemployment and generating more and better youth employment opportunities are key policy challenges worldwide. Active labor market programs for disadvantaged youth may be an effective tool in such cases, but the results have often been disappointing in Organisation for Economic...

Skills are a central source of high productivity and economic well-being. But what do we mean by productive skills? Both with regard to measurement and policy, the primary focus in the U.S. has been on academic skills, as measured by tests of reading, writing and math abilities and by...

This paper provides findings of a small-scale, innovative labor training program that uses expressive arts and theatre as a pedagogical tool. The corresponding life skills training component is combined with a technical component teaching vocational skills. To our knowledge, this is the first...

This paper provides findings of a small-scale, innovative labor training program that uses expressive arts and theatre as a pedagogical tool. The corresponding life skills training component is combined with a technical component teaching vocational skills. To our knowledge, this is the first...

Despite substantial improvements in access to basic education and steady economic growth, The Gambia still faces considerable challenges in respect to reducing poverty. As the result of its narrow economic base and its reduced internal market, the country will continue to rely heavily on the...

Demand-driven training (DDT) and results-based contracting (RBC) are two mechanisms used to enhance the effectiveness and impact of skill training programs. DDT links skills development explicitly with the job market, typically through employer engagement. Private sector employers define what...

In recent years the issue of youth unemployment has been identified as one of the most pressing for young people, who are affected particularly hard by the economic crisis in the European Union. In response, the EU institutions have designed and introduced a complex mix of political instruments,...