Enhancing youth employability: What? Why? And how? Guide to core work skills

Skills development is essential for increasing the productivity and sustainability of enterprises and improving working conditions and the employability of workers. 1 In order to secure that first job as well as navigate in the labour market, young women and men need the technical skills to perform specific tasks as well as core work skills: learning to learn, communication, problem-solving and teamwork. Development of core skills, awareness of workers’ rights and an understanding of entrepreneurship are the building blocks for lifelong learning and capability to adapt to change. The ILO defines employability skills as: … the skills, knowledge and competencies that enhance a worker’s ability to secure and retain a job, progress at work and cope with change, secure another job if he/she so wishes or has been laid off and enter more easily into the labour market at different periods of the life cycle. Individuals are most employable when they have broad-based education and training, basic and portable high-level skills, including teamwork, problem solving, information and communications technology (ICT) and communication and language skills. This combination of skills enables them to adapt to changes in the world of work