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Unemployment and the skills mismatch are significant challenges in most economies today. This report argues that there is a growing role for businesses as providers of solutions, on their own and in partnership with others. The emerging research points to three key solution areas where businesses can take action to address rising unemployment and the mismatches between what businesses need and the skills of new entrants to the labour market: (1) developing employment skills - education and training systems need more input from business to better prepare talent for the needs of the labour market, both within the traditional timeframes for education as well as for lifelong learning during employment; (2) fostering entrepreneurship - entrepreneurship and self-employment are a significant source of jobs and economic growth, and are even more important in the context of rapidly changing business models, the displacement of many traditional jobs and new opportunities for doing business; and (3) connecting talent to markets - the divide between education and work as well as the growing complexity of labour markets, coupled with demographic changes, migration and urbanization, necessitate better signalling mechanisms to match current and future supply of talent with the demand for it.

The case studies in this report describe successful programs that businesses have undertaken in these three areas, most often in collaboration with other stakeholders. While most cases in this study cover some form of skills development efforts - either with youth or in the form of adult learning programmes - there are examples of partnerships that facilitate the connection of talent to markets or help support entrepreneurship. Many of the case studies touch upon more than one solution area. Most cover some form of skills development efforts - either with youth or in the form of adult learning programmes. Case studies of developing employment skills generally aim at developing function-specific skills, such as technical, vocational and academic skills, and accreditation for them, as well as employability and soft skills, such as the ability to solve problems, communicate ideas and information effectively, to be creative and to adapt to change. They also include retraining and upskilling programmes that provide skills development based on industry needs.

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