From left to right: Discussion leader Mr Gregory de Paepe, of the OECD; Moderator Dr Nafisa Shah, MNA, of Pakistan; Mr Donglin Li. of the International Labour Organization; Mr David Amess, MP, of the United Kingdom; and the Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Wade Mark, MP.
and international levels targeted at addressing the youth unemployment situation over the past decade. In the wake of the recent global economic and financial crisis, these efforts have been strengthened and accelerated. Youth unemployment has
been the main focus of many conferences and discussions, including at Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the Summit of the Americas, in which various recommendations to combat this problem have been brought to the forefront.
Action plans In May 2012, the ILO convened its first Global Youth Employment Forum
which brought together approximately 100 young leaders from all regions of the world to share experiences and views on the current employment situation, youth transition to decent work, and partnerships for more and better jobs for young people. The outcome of this discussion was a comprehensive framework for action, which outlines broad priorities to be addressed by governments, social partners and the ILO under the following areas to urgently address the youth employment crisis:
• Employment and economic poli- cies for youth employment; • Employability – education, training and skills and school to work transi- tion; • Labour market policies;
• Youth entrepreneurship and self- employment, and • Rights for young people. • Secondary school systems should be strengthened to ensure that stu- dents move on to further education or to productive roles in the economy and to ensure that young people are literate, numerate and possess critical thinking skills. Entrepreneur- ship and apprenticeship could also be encouraged.
The national youth policy adopted
in Trinidad and Tobago is a broad framework that identifies the key issues affecting young people and creates specific courses of action to address these issues. In the case of employment, the National Youth Policy could focus on the
development of a youth employment and employability policy. The National Business Incubation
Policy harnesses domestic talent and promotes the training of individuals in entrepreneurial skills in a structured fashion. The policy aims to increase employment or self-employment, including among youth through the National Integrated Business Incubator System.
Education is key Tertiary education, technical and vocational education and training and lifelong learning play a pivotal role in the social, economic and cultural development of a country. According to the ILO, a solid
formal education, as well as effective and relevant vocational training, labour