Description: Recent unrest in Egypy, Tunisia and Libya has highlighted the problem of high youth unemployment rates, and governments worldwide are examining this issue with renewed interest. In Indonesia, approximately 21 percent of young workers (aged 15-24 years old) in Indonesia's workforce are unemployed, in comparison to only 4 percent of workers over the age of 25. Assessing whether there is a youth crisis in Indonesia, however, demands a careful look at the facts in order to better understand the nature of causes of unemployment. The forum will present recent analysis carried out by the World Bank on this issue focusing on youth employment, including an assessment of the performance of Indonesia's labor market. The discussion will identify policy options to stimulate job creation for youth, enhance job-related skills to better prepare young people to succeed in the labor market, and how to better connect young workers with employers.
Presenters:
Edgar Janz, Public Policy Specialist, EASPR, World Bank Edgar Janz is a Public Policy Specialist and member of the World Bank’s Poverty Team in Indonesia. He has over ten years of development and governance experience in South East Asia. Previously he has worked with civil society organizations in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Edgar joined the World Bank to work on the “Indonesia Jobs Report,” an assessment of the performance of the labor market over the past two decades and the effectiveness of current labor policies and institutions. Currently he is working with the Poverty Team to support programs that aim to strengthen the institutional capacities of government agencies and research institutes for evidence-based pro-poor policy making.
Pedro Cerdan-Infantes, Education Economist, EASHD, World Bank Pedro Cerdan-Infantes is an Economist in the Human Development of the World Bank's Jakarta office, and author of the report "Education, Training and Labor Market Outcomes for Youth in Indonesia". In addition, he is actively involved in a series of on-going studies related to youth unemployment and training, including an analysis of public training institutions, a study of the market for private training institutions and an assessment of secondary vocational school in Indonesia. His work in Indonesia also involves the broader education sector, leading a Public Expenditure Review of the education sector and analytical work on the Indonesian innovation system. Before coming to Indonesia, he worked in the Latin America and Caribbean region of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, where he co-authored a study of secondary education in Paraguay and designed and conducted impact evaluations of education and health programs in Argentina, Colombia, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay.
Mitch Wiener, Senior Social Protection Specialist, EASHS, World Bank Mitch Wiener is the Senior Social Protection Economist, World Bank's Jakarta-based Indonesia country team. He has worked in Indonesia for the past three years as an advisor for the Ministry of Finance under an ADB TA project. Mitch is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and an Enrolled Actuary with more than 33 years of experience in the United States and other countries. Mitch’s primary area of expertise is public and private pensions. He also has significant experience with health insurance, other social protection programs, regulatory agency development and training, actuarial profession development and life insurance company operations. Mitch has worked on projects with USAID, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Countries in which he has worked extensively include Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Macedonia, Armenia, Thailand and Indonesia. He also has completed projects in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania, Ethiopia and Mauritius.
