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This article was originally published on 3 January 2019 on the website of the Asian Development Bank.
Five steps we can take to ensure that school-leavers are ready to enter the workforce that awaits them in the future.
The US economy has been booming, with low unemployment and rising wages. But as the curtain came down on 2018, we saw wild fluctuations in the stock market and signs of a slowing economy.
As we enter the New Year, there is all the more reason for an intensified focus on developing plans for how workers need to be skilled for the jobs of tomorrow — and putting those plans, with accompanying investments, into action.
Of course, these challenges are not limited to the United States. Indeed, economies in Asia and the Pacific must also adapt, as highlighted in the 2018 Asian Development Outlook (ADO).
A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report published in November notes that technological advances will profoundly affect societies in Asia. Embracing and adapting to technological change will determine whether countries can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Similarly, a recent piece in The New York Times, highlighted that young people need to learn to prepare for a new working world.
