Digital opportunities: Innovative ICT solutions for youth employment

Today’s youth face enormous challenges finding a job and earning a decent income. Around the world, youth are far more likely than adults to find themselves unemployed or in low paying, informal sector jobs. When youth struggle at the beginning of their ca reers the repercussions can last a lifetime. That’s why it’s imperative that we take concrete steps to ensure youth have meaningful work opportunities and can lead productive and fulfilling lives.

The ongoing information technology revolution is transforming established sectors from agriculture to health and creating new ones from microwork to apps development. ICT represent not only a cross-cutting tool but can help in reducing unemployment. The sector is marked by a pressing need for a wide range of ICT jobs. This means that highly qualified youth in technical fields have significant opportunities available to them. In response to youth challenges and emerging ICT opportunities ITU developed a Report Digital opportunities: Innovative ICT solution for youth employment aiming to cast a spotlight on promising solutions in the digital landscape for youth.

ICT skills are increasingly required in both traditional and tech-driven market sectors just as an explosion of new online learning opportunities have become available, employing novel, and often free, ways for youth to get the skills they need. ICTs are transforming the way young digital entrepreneurs do business and grow their skills.

Policy makers can ensure that youth in their countries are included in the growing number of job and business opportunities by incorporating digital skills development in school curriculum and supporting innovation hubs, contests, mobile app labs, hackathons and co-working space.

"When youth struggle at the beginning of their careers the repercussions can last a lifetime. This is not a future we want for the next generation, making it imperative that we take concrete steps to ensure youth have meaningful work opportunities and can lead productive and fulfilling lives," says Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), in his foreword to Digital opportunities: Innovative ICT solutions for youth employment.

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