Viewpoint – investing in young people: some changes and some challenges

Abstract

Examines some of the changes that have occurred in the labour market for young people in the last quarter of a century. Then proceeds to describe the nature of the relevant policy interventions during this same period, in particular the exhortation that “learning pays”. This provides the context for the identification of three challenges for all those directly and indirectly associated with the labour market for young people. In the viewpoint of the author, these challenges are: to espouse the cause of education and training; to create a flexible learning structure to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn both through and over time; and to improve the quantity and quality of information flows within this learning infrastructure.