EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PROFILES OF OAS TECHNICAL COOPERATION ON YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND MICROENTERPRISE

INTRODUCTION

Young people in the Americas embody the region's present as well as its future because they constitute a majority of the population in countries throughout the Hemisphere. Almost ten percent of all the young people in the world, 100 million young persons age 15 to 24, live in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Because economic growth in the Americas since the 1980's has fallen behind population growth, employment has not kept pace with overall economic recovery. As a result, poverty has broadened and deepened, and income distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean has become more unequal. Though young people in the Americas represent the region's social and economic potential, conditions of poverty profoundly affect their chances of survival, as well as that of the newly-established democracies in which they live. Combating poverty begins with entrepreneurial skills on an individual level and is basic to economic growth at the macro level.

The countries of the Americas, including the Caribbean, have developed many innovative methodologies aimed at increasing employment opportunities for young people through a coordinated strategy of youth entrepreneur education, training, and credit. The project builds on that experience and work in a cost-effective manner, to improve the management capabilities of existing national young entrepreneur programs.

The Unit for Social Development and Education, and the Member States recognize the significance of technological advance in competitive markets. The project thus includes a strong component of education in applied technologies.

A primary purpose of the Unit is to work with Member States to identify how countries can better learn from each other's experiences through a high degree of political dialogue on policy issues, technical exchanges, internships, training workshops, and meetings of practitioners as well as policy-makers.

Joint funding with other donors is needed to complement the relatively modest level of OAS resources. Counterpart agencies in the Member states have years of proven experience and continue to demonstrate the capacity to expand the scope and scale of these efforts.

OAS Unit for Social Development and Education

As part of the "OAS Unit for Social Development and Education work in social policy and poverty, employment, and education", the Inter-American Council for Integral Development recently approved the Regional Project on Education for Work and Youth Development. It initiated a program of technical cooperation in the initial phase to draft a integrated approach for youth development. The program of activities primarily focus on microenterprise as a major point for regional cooperation along with other key elements such as youth participation, life skills training, and gender.

In addition to creating a matrix for social and economic programs for young people, the project also identifies successful case studies of youth programs so that this information can be exchanged among policy-makers and practitioners in both governmental and non-governmental organizations. Further, it is defining areas for increased networking and collaboration among youth organizations, regional agencies, and international agencies through the development of a Youth internet web site.

The Regional Project on Education for Work and Youth Development also includes cooperation in Latin America focusing on technical and vocational education in non-formal skills training programs, and the Unit is in discussion with the Ministries of Education and Youth Affairs on future activities. Based on these discussions and experiences in 1997, additional programming discussions with Member States in Latin America will promote Inter-American dialogue and consideration of follow-up plans with other countries of the Hemisphere. The OAS invites the participation and support of other national, regional, and international organization donors in this project.

BACKGROUND

1.1 Young people under the age of 30 in Latin America and the Caribbean, comprise the majority of the population for the countries in the region. They face high rates of unemployment due to the small size of the labor markets and inadequate preparation by traditional educational systems for either wage employment or entrepreneurship. In particular, young males from large low-income families with no immediate employment prospects, are more likely to resort to crime, violence, and drug use. These conditions of poverty profoundly affect young people's chances of survival. Combating poverty begins with entrepreneurial skills on the individual level and is basic to economic growth at the macro level.

1.2 Educational systems have emphasized traditional academic or technical fields. Therefore young people leaving these schools posses little understanding of the development or operation of private sector enterprises or how to respond to entrepreneurial opportunities that could create self-employment in the non-formal sector. In addition, technology is changing rapidly and education in applied technologies needs to be updated.

1.3 Governments, non-governmental organizations, and businesses now recognize the potential challenge that this situation poses for the future economic and social development of these countries. Their responses, however, have emphasized public policy or project approaches. While government participation is necessary to creating an overall environment of supportive policies and educational support, reliance on limited public sector funding and the capabilities of existing public sector institutions has not maximized the level of technical or financial support that could be obtained from the private sector.

1.4 Non-governmental organizations have also begun to develop a number of projects that address these issues and governments. These agencies have limited funding which creates a barrier to their long-term sustainability. Corporations and other private sector entities have also increasingly recognized the need to improve training and offer constructive activities for this large pool of unskilled, unemployed youth. However, avenues for practical, long-term collaboration have not been fully developed or implemented.

1.5 Member States and international organizations agree that employment creation through enterprise development and skills training is a fundamental stimulus of future economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean. Yet, the overall approach to entrepreneurial development and employment training remains fragmented and uncoordinated. This creates duplication and undermines the longer-term potential success of businesses, since resources for follow-up support (such as technical advice, finance, and access to trade) are limited by the absence of well-organized regional and small business networks.

1.6 A regional approach to technical cooperation and support for national projects offers the advantage of a greater economies of scale in Latin America and the Caribbean subregion. This approach would include sharing effective program models and management structures among the countries, to strengthen national organizations. The ultimate objective is to build national capacity for promoting an increase in youth enterprise and employment.

1.7 Businesses and donors are likely to respond most favorably to projects with visible national benefits. At the same time, many of the larger corporations and banks in Latin America and the Caribbean operate on a regional basis which could result in strategic advantages to a regional approach. In developing this project, on-going consultations and partnership-building exercises are necessary to ensure that the strategies put in place are attractive to potential donors. One such strategy includes a foundation being developed by the OAS Inter-American Council for Integral Development.