Building Effective Employment Programs for Unemployed Youth in the Middle East and North Africa (Directions in Development)

Given that countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region face many labor market challenges-notably high unemployment, prevalence of skills mismatches, low labor market mobility, and lack of formal employment networks-employment services could be a relevant policy instrument to help unemployed individuals find jobs. Despite high and increasing unemployment rates, employers in the region have a hard time finding workers whose competencies and skills fit their employment needs.

This book first surveys international best practices for the delivery of employment services and then reviews the provision of those services in a selected group of countries in the MENA region, with a focus on public provision through existing public employment agencies. Findings indicate that public agencies in the region face many challenges to the effective delivery of employment programs-namely insufficient administrative capacity, system fragmentation, lack of governance and accountability, regulation bottlenecks, and flaws in program design.

In order to help unemployed workers obtain the competencies required by available jobs, this study proposes a reform agenda based on the development of strong partnerships among public agencies, public providers, and employers for the design and implementation of flexible employment programs that respond to real employment needs. These partnerships will need to be developed with strong governance mechanisms that make beneficiaries, private providers, and firms accountable for making sure that investments in employment programs lead to employment insertion.

Building Effective Employment Programs for Unemployed Youth in the Middle East and North Africa will be a useful resource for policy makers, practitioners, economists, and anyone interested in international best practices for promoting a more effective delivery of employment services.