It is necessary to adopt sound macroeconomic policies that promote overall employment growth as a basis for addressing the employment problems of young people. Developing young people's employability is a key policy issue for ensuring their successful transition to the labour market and their access to career-oriented employment. Youth need to acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes that will allow them to find work and to cope with unpredictable labour market changes throughout their working lives.
Education systems play a crucial role in preparing youth for the labour market.
However, completing upper secondary school is not a sufficient condition for stable entry into the labour market. In a number of countries, secondary school graduates can still be subject to considerable unemployment. Policy should focus on ensuring that young people are employable, both when they first enter the labour market and over time. In some countries, young people are already launching thousands of start-up companies that capitalize on technologies such as wireless telephones and the Internet. In developed countries, industry experts indicate that jobs exist in all areas of e-business including Java programming and web hosting, as well as in business support services.