ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

DECENT WORK AND YOUTHLatin America

In your opinion, what is the main fear among young people today?

100100100100100100TOTAL

5187349479172Weighted total interviews

--31-1Not specified

4---31Cancer

85-815Sexual violence

111814161415Unwanted pregnancy

221812181818Violence

262918252726AIDS

293053323734Unemployment

D/ECA/BFemaleMale

SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELSEXTotal %ANSWERS

In your opinion, what is the main difficulty facing young people as they enter adult life?

15423390133171172476Weighted total interviews

100100100100100100100Total %

30.443212Not specified

3764576Inadequate technical training

78117998Low wages

413118111010Difficulties in gaining independence from family

11911871410Job instability

36262235302128Lack of job opportunities

36373633373836Low levels of education

D/ECA/B45 and older

30 to 44

18 to 29

SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELAge Group

Total %ANSWERS

422232Not specified

15423390240236476Weighted total interviews

161923172219Program to encourage political participation by young people

182120182220Program to encourage artistic and sporting gifts of young people

242119271621Program to control drug use and provide rehabilitation

342434292929Education program on sexual and reproductive health

374736463742Program to prevent gang activities and youth violence

515757545655Youth employment program

D/ECA/BFemaleMale

SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELSEXTotal %ANSWERS

Which of the following programs should receive government priority to improve the situation of young people? (multiple answers possible)

From the following list, which do you think is the best definition of “succeeding in life”?

Being self-sufficient, not depending on anyone else 28 18 36 22 30 27Able to work at what you like 21 21 21 15 26 18Being successful at work 18 20 16 18 20 14Being useful to society 16 21 11 27 11 16Forming a stable family 12 15 10 14 10 16Earning a lot of money 4 4 5 3 3 8Not specified 1 1 - - - 2Total % 100 100 100 100 100 100Weighted total interviews 172 79 94 34 87 51

ANSWERS Total %

SEX SOCIOECONOMIC LEVEL

Male Female A/B C D/E

Youth in Latin America and the Caribbean

Studying:49 million

Not precarious:17 million

Precarious:31 million

Unemployed:10 million

Inactive:48 million

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. Size and nature of the challenge1.1. Young people who work: where and under what conditions?1.2. Young people who neither work nor study

2. Paths toward decent work2.1. Challenges

3. Proposals: adequate institutionality 3.1. Better connections with the productive world3.2. Adequate regulatory framework: combining protection and promotion3.3. More and better social protection3.4. Education and job training 3.5. Business training and development 3.6. Promoting inclusion 3.7. An effective institutional framework3.8. The contribution of workers’ and employers’ organizations

CONCLUSION

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DECENT WORK?

Productive work that is justly remunerated and done in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and respect for human dignity (1999).

An attempt to combine, in a reasonable and coherent fashion, the different aspects that make up a good job: creation of quality work (demand of the population, political mandate) that respects the basic rights of workers (historical mandate of the ILO), with appropriate levels of social protection (ethical mandate) and the right of representation and participation in the social dialogue (democratic mandate).

“Not a destination, but a journey.”

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DECENT WORK: Declarations by the Latin American Heads of State and

Government 2003Consensus of Mar del Plata. Argentina and Brazil. XIII Ibero-American Summit. 2004Act of Copacabana. Argentina and Brazil.Declaration of Nuevo León. Special Summit of the Americas.Declaration of Guadalajara. III Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean,

and the European Union.XIV Ibero-American Summit. San José.III South American Summit. Cuzco. 2005Global Summit. New YorkXV Ibero-American Summit. Salamanca.Fourth Summit of the Americas 2006IV Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the European Union.

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Decade for Decent Work in the Americas, 2006–2015

The Declaration and Plan of Action of Mar del Plata informed the report of the Director General at the Sixteenth American Regional Meeting:

“Decent Work in the Americas: An Agenda for the Hemisphere, 2006–2015”

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Decade for Decent Work in the Americas, 2006-2015

Areas for intervention:1. International labor standards.2. Gender equality.3. Youth employment:

Goal: To provide young people with more training and a better insertion into the job market.Target: To reduce the proportion of young people aged over 15 who neither study nor work by one-half over the next 10 years.

4. Small businesses and microenterprises 5. Informal economy 6. Rural sector and local development 7. Professional training 8. Employment services 9. Wages and earnings 10. Health and safety in the workplace 11. Migrant workers

+ComEmprego and studies + Social protection, + Integrated / Not poor + Family and friends

Elementary education / Positive social and family reference points / Family support

Transition to post-secondary education / Professional training / Social networks

Effective transition into the workplace

Aspirations and expectations /

Family decisions

-Unemployed or underemployed – no education or incomplete studies – Poor and at-risk family

School dropouts / Reference points in crisis / Child labor / Interrupted education / Inadequate professional training / Early pregnancy / Precarious jobs / Precarious social networks / Crime / Racial and gender discrimination

Policies

* Better ties with the productive world.* Adequate regulatory framework.* More and better social protection.* Greater emphasis on equality of opportunities.* Education and job training.* Business creation and development.* Social inclusion.* Efficient institutional framework.