Young people and vocational education and training (VET)

The economic and social fall-out of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic for young people aged 15 to 24 has been disproportionately severe and will have long lasting effects. Young people who were already experiencing educational marginalisation associated with demographic and geographic characteristics are most at risk of the compounding impact of COVID-19 on their access to employment, education and training opportunities and outcomes. The youth labour market will be slow to recover. Young workers are concentrated in service industries and low-skill jobs that have been most...  [+] Show more

The economic and social fall-out of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic for young people aged 15 to 24 has been disproportionately severe and will have long lasting effects. Young people who were already experiencing educational marginalisation associated with demographic and geographic characteristics are most at risk of the compounding impact of COVID-19 on their access to employment, education and training opportunities and outcomes. The youth labour market will be slow to recover. Young workers are concentrated in service industries and low-skill jobs that have been most affected by the social distancing measures and economic downturn. Young people are likely to experience slow labour market recovery due to a reliance on sectors with high rates of part-time work, low-skilled work and casualised or precarious work. The digital divide is amplified. The shift of education systems and employment services to digital and remote mass delivery is most difficult for those young people who cannot afford the latest technology or lack confidence using it. The effects on employment and incomes could be long-lasting. Young people who are just beginning their working lives are vulnerable to the long-term scarring effects of labour market exclusion.

Published abstract.