The 20^th Internat(i)onal Conference of Labour Stat(i)st(i)c(i)ans,

Recogn(i)s(i)ng the need to have an (i)nternat(i)onally agreed methodology to measure (i)nd(i)cator SDG 8.b.1 on nat(i)onal youth employment strateg(i)es cons(i)stent w(i)th the Resolut(i)on adopted by the Un(i)ted Nat(i)ons General Assembly on Work of the Stat(i)st(i)cal Comm(i)ss(i)on perta(i)n(i)ng to the 2030 Agenda for Susta(i)nable Development (A/RES/71/313);

Hav(i)ng rev(i)ewed the proposed methodology presented by the Off(i)ce;

In v(i)ew of the del(i)berat(i)ons of the next sess(i)on of the Inter‐Agency Expert Group on Susta(i)nable Development Goals (IAEG‐SDG) perta(i)n(i)ng to T(i)er III (i)nd(i)cators, and (i)nd(i)cator 8.b.1 more part(i)cularly;

Recommends that the Off(i)ce:

• (a) Adopts the rev(i)ewed methodology for (i)nd(i)cator 8.b.1 as set out (i)n the annex and commun(i)cates the endorsement of the ICLS to the IAEG‐SDG for (i)ts cons(i)derat(i)on and act(i)on.
• (b) Commun(i)cates on behalf of the ICLS the conf(i)rmat(i)on that the ILO should be the custod(i)an agency for th(i)s (i)nd(i)cator, g(i)ven (i)ts mandate, themat(i)c act(i)on and conven(i)ng role (i)n the youth employment area, also (i)n relat(i)on to the Global In(i)t(i)at(i)ve on Decent Jobs for Youth, a global all(i)ance to scale up act(i)on and (i)mpact on youth employment under the 2030 Agenda for Susta(i)nable Development.
• (c) Makes the necessary (i)nternal arrangements to undertake the annual product(i)on and report(i)ng of the (i)nd(i)cator to the U.N.

Annex: Methodology for SDG Ind(i)cator 8.b.1: “Ex(i)stence of a developed and operat(i)onal(i)zed nat(i)onal strategy for youth employment, as a d(i)st(i)nct strategy or as part of a nat(i)onal employment strategy” 

1. Background

In September 2015, at the 70th Sess(i)on of the UN General Assembly, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Susta(i)nable Development, wh(i)ch compr(i)ses 17 Susta(i)nable Development Goals and 169 targets and (i)s (i)ntended as a plan of act(i)on to be (i)mplemented by all countr(i)es and all stakeholders, act(i)ng (i)n collaborat(i)ve partnersh(i)p.

The 2030 Agenda for Susta(i)nable Development places full and product(i)ve employment and decent work for youth at the centre of the new development v(i)s(i)on. It emphas(i)zes the catalyt(i)c power of youth employment (i)n poverty allev(i)at(i)on, econom(i)c growth, and peace and prosper(i)ty for all. Targets under Goal 8 (i)n part(i)cular, as well as several other goals, recogn(i)ze the (i)mportance of address(i)ng challenges (i)n youth employment and cons(i)stent act(i)on on decent jobs for youth and youth development overall.

Key youth‐spec(i)f(i)c targets (i)nclude:

• 4.4: “By 2030, (i)ncrease the number of youth and adults who have relevant sk(i)lls, (i)nclud(i)ng techn(i)cal and vocat(i)onal sk(i)lls, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneursh(i)p”;
• 4.6: “By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substant(i)al proport(i)on of adults, both men and women, ach(i)eve l(i)teracy and numeracy”;
• 8.5: “By 2030, ach(i)eve full and product(i)ve employment and decent work for all women and men, (i)nclud(i)ng for young people and persons w(i)th d(i)sab(i)l(i)t(i)es, and equal pay for work of equal value”;
• 8.6: “By 2020, substant(i)ally reduce the proport(i)on of youth not (i)n employment, educat(i)on or tra(i)n(i)ng”;
• 8.b: “By 2020, develop and operat(i)onal(i)ze a global strategy for youth employment and (i)mplement the Global Jobs Pact of the Internat(i)onal Labour Organ(i)zat(i)on”; and
• 13.b: “Promote mechan(i)sms for ra(i)s(i)ng capac(i)ty for effect(i)ve cl(i)mate change‐related plann(i)ng and management (i)n least developed countr(i)es and small (i)sland develop(i)ng States, (i)nclud(i)ng focus(i)ng on women, youth and local and marg(i)nal(i)zed commun(i)t(i)es.”

The Inter‐agency and Expert Group on SDG Ind(i)cators (IAEG‐SDGs), composed of member States and (i)nclud(i)ng reg(i)onal and (i)nternat(i)onal agenc(i)es as observers, (i)s respons(i)ble for develop(i)ng and br(i)ng(i)ng to fru(i)t(i)on the global (i)nd(i)cator framework of the 2030 Agenda. The IAEG‐SDGs has (i)dent(i)f(i)ed one or more “custod(i)an agenc(i)es” for each of the 232 global SDG (i)nd(i)cators. In the case of T(i)er III (i)nd(i)cators¹, these agenc(i)es are expected to lead the development of (i)nd(i)cators by also def(i)n(i)ng standard(i)zed methods for data collect(i)on and analys(i)s, to establ(i)sh mechan(i)sms to comp(i)le data, and to ma(i)nta(i)n global databases wh(i)ch can be used for global SDG report(i)ng.

The ILO has been proposed as custod(i)an UN agency for youth‐employment related (i)nd(i)cators (i)nclud(i)ng 8.b.1., a T(i)er III Ind(i)cator and the subject of the present document wh(i)ch proposes a methodology for measurement and regular report(i)ng. Ind(i)cator 8.b.1 refers to the “Ex(i)stence of a developed and operat(i)onal(i)zed nat(i)onal strategy for youth employment, as a d(i)st(i)nct strategy or as part of a nat(i)onal employment strategy”.

The proposed methodology (i)s subm(i)tted for d(i)scuss(i)on and endorsement by the ICLS. The ICLS dec(i)s(i)on w(i)ll be commun(i)cated to the IAEG‐SDG to determ(i)ne the poss(i)ble rev(i)s(i)on of the t(i)er class(i)f(i)cat(i)on of th(i)s (i)nd(i)cator to T(i)er II.

2. Bu(i)ld(i)ng blocks of the methodology

The proposed methodology draws on:

• a. Global pol(i)cy (i)nstruments, notably:
  • Resolut(i)on on The youth employment cr(i)s(i)s: A call for act(i)on²,
  • adopted at the 101^st sess(i)on of the Internat(i)onal Labour Conference (ILC) (i)n June 2012. In call(i)ng for v(i)gorous, collect(i)ve act(i)on to address an aggravated youth employment cr(i)s(i)s, th(i)s resolut(i)on advocates for a mult(i)pronged approach w(i)th pol(i)cy measures that are context‐spec(i)f(i)c and (i)ntegrated, enta(i)l(i)ng strateg(i)es wh(i)ch br(i)ng together (i)n a coherent manner a var(i)ety of (i)nstruments to (i)ncrease the demand, enhance the supply and (i)mprove match(i)ng (i)n youth labour markets.
  • Recover(i)ng from the cr(i)s(i)s:  A Global Jobs Pact³ adopted by the ILC at (i)ts June 2009 sess(i)on. Based on the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda, the Global Jobs Pact presents an (i)ntegrated portfol(i)o of pol(i)c(i)es that puts employment and soc(i)al protect(i)on at the centre of cr(i)s(i)s response, recogn(i)s(i)ng the cr(i)t(i)cal role of part(i)c(i)pat(i)on and soc(i)al d(i)alogue.
• b. ILO databases:
  • Internat(i)onal mon(i)tor(i)ng of youth employment pol(i)c(i)es was carr(i)ed out over the per(i)od 20102012 by the Youth Employment Network (YEN) – a partnersh(i)p between the ILO, Un(i)ted Nat(i)ons and World Bank – ut(i)l(i)s(i)ng a quest(i)onna(i)re sent to nat(i)onal author(i)t(i)es. Th(i)s evolved (i)nto YouthPOL⁴, an (i)nventory of youth employment pol(i)c(i)es and programmes ma(i)nta(i)ned by the ILO (65 countr(i)es covered to date).
  • The ILO also ma(i)nta(i)ns EmPol, a dataset of broader nat(i)onal employment pol(i)c(i)es (143 countr(i)es covered).
• c. ILO relevant expert(i)se and exper(i)ence:
  • The Department of Stat(i)st(i)cs (STATISTICS) works to prov(i)de relevant, t(i)mely and rel(i)able labour stat(i)st(i)cs, to develop (i)nternat(i)onal standards for better measurement of labour (i)ssues and enhanced (i)nternat(i)onal comparab(i)l(i)ty, and to help member States develop and (i)mprove the(i)r labour stat(i)st(i)cs.
  • The Employment Pol(i)cy Department (EMPLOYMENT) (i)s respons(i)ble for promot(i)ng full and product(i)ve employment by develop(i)ng (i)ntegrated employment, development and sk(i)lls pol(i)c(i)es (ILO, 2012) that are (i)nclus(i)ve, gender sens(i)t(i)ve and susta(i)nable. The department (i)s mandated to coord(i)nate ILO efforts to promote decent job opportun(i)t(i)es for young women and men; over the years, (i)t has supported the formulat(i)on, (i)mplementat(i)on and rev(i)ew of nat(i)onal youth employment strateg(i)es and act(i)on plans (i)n d(i)fferent countr(i)es and reg(i)ons (ILO, 2008; ILO, 2015). Th(i)s type of targeted act(i)on and related ach(i)evements have been (i)ncluded (i)n the ILO programm(i)ng framework and performance system.
  • The ILO has extens(i)ve exper(i)ence (i)n support(i)ng (i)ts const(i)tuents and other development stakeholders through knowledge and capac(i)ty bu(i)ld(i)ng as well as through pol(i)cy advocacy and adv(i)ce. The l(i)st of references at the end of th(i)s note offers examples of recent major ILO contr(i)but(i)ons to knowledge bu(i)ld(i)ng on youth employment and youth employment pol(i)cy (ILO, 2017).

3. Development process

The follow(i)ng steps are followed (i)n develop(i)ng the (i)nd(i)cator methodology:

1. Exam(i)nat(i)on of relevant pol(i)cy (i)nstruments, (i)nclud(i)ng the above‐ment(i)oned Call for act(i)on and Global Jobs Pact. Adopted by ILO tr(i)part(i)te const(i)tuents, these documents prov(i)de a sound framework for def(i)n(i)ng SDG (i)nd(i)cator 8.b.1.
2. Rev(i)ew of ILO databases on employment and youth employment pol(i)c(i)es (EmPOL and YouthPOL), ma(i)nta(i)ned by the Employment Pol(i)cy Department.
3. A of methodology for def(i)n(i)ng, measur(i)ng and val(i)dat(i)ng th(i)s (i)nd(i)cator (the present document).
4. Development of a survey (i)nstrument (quest(i)onna(i)re) to collect nat(i)onal‐level (i)nformat(i)on on youth employment pol(i)c(i)es from nat(i)onal ent(i)t(i)es. The (i)nformat(i)on w(i)ll be used to determ(i)ne (i)f countr(i)es have developed and operat(i)onal(i)zed a nat(i)onal strategy for youth employment as a stand‐alone strategy or as part of a nat(i)onal employment or sectoral strategy, (i)n l(i)ne w(i)th the above‐ment(i)oned ILC resolut(i)ons.
5. Techn(i)cal gu(i)del(i)nes for data prov(i)ders and comp(i)lers, along w(i)th the above‐ment(i)oned quest(i)onna(i)re and deta(i)led notes.
6. P(i)lot the methodology (i)n selected countr(i)es.

Consultat(i)ons w(i)th pert(i)nent m(i)n(i)str(i)es and soc(i)al partners’ representat(i)ves w(i)ll take place throughout the process.

4. Concepts and def(i)n(i)t(i)ons

The follow(i)ng concepts and def(i)n(i)t(i)ons are proposed for mon(i)tor(i)ng purposes:

• A “developed nat(i)onal strategy” – an off(i)c(i)ally adopted document that art(i)culates a set of measures and prov(i)s(i)ons a(i)med at promot(i)ng youth employment w(i)th(i)n a def(i)ned t(i)meframe. It expl(i)c(i)tly ment(i)ons youth as a target. It may ex(i)st on (i)ts own or as part of a w(i)der employment or development strategy. More spec(i)f(i)cally:
  • “Off(i)c(i)ally adopted” document – a text adopted by the respons(i)ble government ent(i)ty or author(i)ty. The follow(i)ng types of documents can be cons(i)dered:

Youth‐spec(i)f(i)c:

• Nat(i)onal Pol(i)cy/Strategy/Act(i)on Plan for Youth Employment
• Youth Employment Law/Act
• Youth (Development/Empowerment) Pol(i)cy/Strategy/Plan

Other documents:

• Nat(i)onal Employment Pol(i)cy/Strategy/Plan
• Nat(i)onal Development Pol(i)cy/Strategy/Plan
• “Set of measures” – a m(i)x of pol(i)cy measures that (i)ncludes econom(i)c and/or f(i)scal pol(i)c(i)es wh(i)ch promote youth employment, labour market pol(i)c(i)es target(i)ng young people, pol(i)c(i)es and programmes to enhance youth employab(i)l(i)ty, to promote youth entrepreneursh(i)p, and/or to protect youth r(i)ghts at work. The ILO’s Call for act(i)on deta(i)ls these pol(i)cy areas and poss(i)ble act(i)on there(i)n.
• “Prov(i)s(i)ons” – arrangements foreseen to (i)mplement pol(i)cy measures (i)llustrated by the ava(i)lab(i)l(i)ty of an act(i)on plan w(i)th a l(i)st of foreseen act(i)v(i)t(i)es, a mon(i)tor(i)ng framework, resources earmarked and (i)nst(i)tut(i)onal respons(i)b(i)l(i)t(i)es clar(i)f(i)ed.
• An “operat(i)onal(i)zed strategy” – th(i)s means there (i)s ev(i)dence (government statement, off(i)c(i)al techn(i)cal/f(i)nanc(i)al progress report, or other off(i)c(i)al documents) of (i)mplementat(i)on of some or all the measures and prov(i)s(i)ons (i)n the strategy; for example, f(i)scal (i)ncent(i)ves are (i)n place for the promot(i)on of employment (i)n spec(i)f(i)c sectors, or, an act(i)ve labour market programme for young people (i)s (i)n operat(i)on.

5. Data collect(i)on and comp(i)lat(i)on

5.1. Data prov(i)der

Nat(i)onal ent(i)t(i)es (m(i)n(i)str(i)es or other government agenc(i)es) respons(i)ble for development, employment and youth pol(i)c(i)es. The ILO w(i)ll ma(i)nta(i)n a roster of nat(i)onal actors to be (i)nvolved (i)n the mon(i)tor(i)ng process.

5.2. Data comp(i)ler

The ILO w(i)ll be respons(i)ble for comp(i)l(i)ng the (i)nformat(i)on made ava(i)lable by nat(i)onal ent(i)t(i)es.

5.3. Modal(i)ty

The latest ava(i)lable f(i)gure for each country w(i)ll be reported annually. For do(i)ng so, the modal(i)t(i)es are as follows:

• a. Global survey for data collect(i)on: Request(i)ng respons(i)ble nat(i)onal ent(i)t(i)es to prov(i)de relevant (i)nformat(i)on and support documents; a survey quest(i)onna(i)re (i)s developed and adm(i)n(i)stered by the ILO w(i)th b(i)enn(i)al frequency to assess progress. Th(i)s w(i)ll be complemented by regular (i)nformat(i)on and updates from ILO country off(i)ces on development, adopt(i)on and (i)mplementat(i)on of youth employment pol(i)c(i)es (i)n countr(i)es covered by these off(i)ces, every year.
• b. Data comp(i)lat(i)on: by the ILO; d(i)ssem(i)nated through ILOSTAT, a new repos(i)tory ded(i)cated to Ind(i)cator 8.b.1 and the act(i)ve use of YouthPOL, EmPol and other databases (e.g. NATLEX – the ILO database of nat(i)onal labour, soc(i)al secur(i)ty and related human r(i)ghts leg(i)slat(i)on), as appropr(i)ate.
• c. Data val(i)dat(i)on: Regular qual(i)ty checks w(i)ll be conducted on all data, (i)n part(i)cular when: an already ava(i)lable document has not been d(i)rectly prov(i)ded by the government (i)tself; ((i)(i)) (i)t (i)s unclear (i)f the strategy and related act(i)on plan have been off(i)c(i)ally adopted; or ((i)(i)(i)) there are doubts regard(i)ng the (i)mplementat(i)on of the strategy.

5.4. T(i)mel(i)ne

• Proposed methodology to the ICLS: October 2018
• Development of survey quest(i)onna(i)re and techn(i)cal gu(i)del(i)nes: October 2018)
• Test(i)ng: November 2018‐February 2019
• Regular adm(i)n(i)strat(i)on of the survey: as of early 2019

6. Method of computat(i)on

The (i)nformat(i)on and documents prov(i)ded by nat(i)onal author(i)t(i)es w(i)ll be analysed by the ILO by mak(i)ng use of the gr(i)d hereafter.

In all cases, the gr(i)d refers to a nat(i)onal strategy for youth employment as a d(i)st(i)nct strategy or as part of a nat(i)onal employment strategy.

M(i)ss(i)ng values ((i).e. no response/unknown) should be noted as such. They should be om(i)tted from the f(i)nal global and reg(i)onal breakdown: proport(i)ons should only be calculated on the bas(i)s of rece(i)ved responses. However, the global and reg(i)onal response rates w(i)ll be (i)nd(i)cated.

The poss(i)ble development of metadata notes complement(i)ng the gr(i)d (i)s be(i)ng cons(i)dered. Among other aspects, these notes may refer to the measures and prov(i)s(i)ons (i)n place, and would also cons(i)der the (i)nvolvement of nat(i)onal const(i)tuents (i)n the development and operat(i)onal(i)zat(i)on of the strateg(i)es.

The ILO may also env(i)sage to conduct a more deta(i)led analys(i)s of selected country documents for purposes wh(i)ch go beyond the scope of SDG mon(i)tor(i)ng, (i)n order to gather (i)ns(i)ghts on (i)nst(i)tut(i)onal and operat(i)onal matters (i)n nat(i)onal efforts for youth employment.

7. Issues of (i)nterpretat(i)on and l(i)m(i)tat(i)ons

The purpose of SDG (i)nd(i)cator 8.b.1 (i)s to prov(i)de an (i)nd(i)cat(i)on of the progress of countr(i)es (i)n address(i)ng youth employment (i)ssues. In th(i)s respect, (i)t (i)s assumed that hav(i)ng off(i)c(i)ally adopted what can be recogn(i)sed as a structured strategy for youth employment would mean larger attent(i)on g(i)ven by a country to youth labour market challenges, compared to countr(i)es w(i)th no strategy. In fact, the development of such a strategy usually enta(i)ls broad part(i)c(i)pat(i)on of and consultat(i)on/coord(i)nat(i)on among d(i)fferent stakeholders.

It should also be cons(i)dered that governments may have de facto nat(i)onal strateg(i)es for youth employment, but lack an off(i)c(i)ally adopted de jure document. For SDG 8.b.1 mon(i)tor(i)ng purposes we’ll only cons(i)der what emerges from de jure documents.

8. Data release

The (i)nformat(i)on w(i)ll be released annually through the appropr(i)ate report(i)ng channels

9. Follow‐up act(i)v(i)t(i)es

The present document, (i)f supported by the 20^th ICLS, should prov(i)de the bas(i)s for the next steps towards the development and mon(i)tor(i)ng of Ind(i)cator SDG 8.b.1 (i)n as many countr(i)es as poss(i)ble.

To fac(i)l(i)tate the process of test(i)ng the method (i)n d(i)fferent nat(i)onal c(i)rcumstances, the ILO env(i)sages, through collaborat(i)ve arrangements w(i)th nat(i)onal actors: (a) to prepare techn(i)cal gu(i)del(i)nes on pract(i)cal methods for data collect(i)on, data process(i)ng, data analys(i)s and data transm(i)ss(i)on on operat(i)onal(i)sed nat(i)onal youth employment strateg(i)es; and (b) to prov(i)de techn(i)cal ass(i)stance through tra(i)n(i)ng and capac(i)ty bu(i)ld(i)ng, as appropr(i)ate.

10. References:

Internat(i)onal Labour Off(i)ce (ILO). 2008. Gu(i)de for the preparat(i)on of Nat(i)onal act(i)on Plans on Youth Employment. (Geneva, ILO)

_. 2012. Gu(i)de for the formulat(i)on of nat(i)onal employment pol(i)c(i)es. (Geneva).

_. 2015. Comparat(i)ve Analys(i)s of Pol(i)c(i)es for Youth Employment (i)n As(i)a and the Pac(i)f(i)c. (Geneva).

_. 2017. Global employment trends for youth 2017: paths to a better work(i)ng future (Geneva)

O’h(i)gg(i)ns, N. 2017. R(i)s(i)ng to the youth employment challenge: new ev(i)dence on key pol(i)cy (i)ssues (Geneva, ILO).

1. ^ T(i)er I cons(i)sts of global SDG (i)nd(i)cators that already have a well-establ(i)shed methodology, agreed upon at the (i)nternat(i)onal level and for wh(i)ch data (i)s regularly produced and w(i)dely ava(i)lable for at least half of the countr(i)es and half the populat(i)on of the relevant reg(i)ons. T(i)er II cons(i)sts of global SDG (i)nd(i)cators that already have a clearly def(i)ned and (i)nternat(i)onally-agreed methodology but for wh(i)ch data (i)s ava(i)lable for a more l(i)m(i)ted number of countr(i)es or not for all reg(i)ons and (i)s not regularly produced. T(i)er III cons(i)sts of global SDG (i)nd(i)cators that st(i)ll do not have a methodology (i)n place, (i)nclud(i)ng clear def(i)n(i)t(i)ons, concepts and class(i)f(i)cat(i)ons.
2. ^ Ava(i)lable onl(i)ne at: https://www.(i)lo.org/(i)lc/ILCSess(i)ons/101stSess(i)on/texts‐adopted/WCMS_185950/lang‐en/(i)ndex.htm
3. ^ https://www.(i)lo.org/(i)lc/ILCSess(i)ons/98thSess(i)on/texts/WCMS_115076/lang‐‐en/(i)ndex.htm
4. ^ http://www.(i)lo.org/dyn/youthpol/en/f?p=30850:1001:0::NO:::