According to a survey developed by Adecco Argentina, almost 7 out of 10 Argentinian youngsters cannot find a job as they lack working experience. Therefore, there is a gap between the skills young people have and the skills the labor market, and private and public enterprises demand. In Argentina, there are 1 million youngsters who do not work nor study, and over 700 thousand not even looking for a job.

Considering this situation, encouraging this group of workers to develop their talent and human capital has become a major challenge.

David Herranz, CEO of Adecco Latam, said that “the region shows the widest gaps in the world regarding the skills young people have and the skills the labor market demands. Surveys such as the “Global Talent Competitiveness Index”, developed on annual basis by Adecco Group, shows that the longer young people remain in the NEET category, the lower are the chances they have of developing skills, which represents a loss of human capital for the economy”.

On a regional level, there are around 30 million young persons who are part of the NEET group (neither in employment, education or training). Furthermore, the region shows high levels of school dropouts in secondary education. In addition, almost half of the young Latin-Americans who do work, do so in the informal labor market.

A first step to tackle the informal labor market is to simplify and untangle complex and highly bureaucratic labor rules and standards, which tend to drown economies and innovation in most Latin-American countries. Focus must be set on smart labor market’s regulations, improving competitiveness and assuring workers’ rights.

Besides, combining school education with professional training and skills’ development for the market is one of the most effective strategies, which has already been successfully applied by countries that low levels of youth unemployment, such as Switzerland or Germany.

Source: El Cronista