Better education and training to improve the transition to work

The crisis has highlighted once again that one of the main underlying structural problems in the youth labour market is related to education and training. Some youth are leaving the education system and entering the labour market without a recognised qualification and/or with skills not relevant for labour market needs. This calls for remedial action that could be beneficial during the crisis but also well beyond. In many countries, actions are needed in several different areas, particularly to ensure high-quality training programmes for school drop-outs. Policy initiatives in OECD countries should all seek to achieve three key objectives, to: i) minimise the number of school drop-outs ii) promote the combination of study and work and iii) offer every youth a second chance to obtain a qualification. Recent promising and innovative measures implemented in OECD countries seek to prevent teenagers from dropping out of school, to help tertiary students and graduates to be better prepared to enter the labour market and to promote successful apprenticeship opportunities for youth, particularly among the most disadvantaged groups.