Persistent and Emerging Challenges Vocabulary and Expressions hydrocarbon

Persistent and Emerging Challenges
   After the collapse of manufacturing occurring in many countries, the region remains dependent on extractive industries and the export of hydrocarbons and minerals, textile, agriculture. But the extractive and heavy industries don’t contribute much to total employment while employment in textiles and agriculture is low productivity. Services sector offers some high-quality jobs but the majority are of low quality and productivity.
   Countries should address gender inequalities through reducing the vertical and horizontal labor market segregation and closing the gender wage gap in order to improve women’s economic position. Meanwhile, measures for reconciling work and family responsibilities should be strengthened to improve women’s labor force participation. Targeted programmes should be designed for fostering female entrepreneurship and to help women in poverty. The effective implementation of the existing gender-sensitive policy frameworks should be promoted.
   High youth unemployment remains another big challenge. Difficulties in transition from school to work are associated with the lack of work experience and with large mismatches between skills possessed by young people and demanded by employers. Countries need improve their education and training policies, engage the enterprise sector in reforming and co-financing the education and training system and strengthen the employment services and labor market policies in order to overcome skill mismatches and support young people into the labor market. Youth employment should be enhanced by introducing flexible training systems leading to gainful employment and better career guidance services. The capacities of employers’ and workers’ organizations should be further enhanced to contribute to the improved quality of education, training and lifelong learning policies. Youth employment should be fostered through private sector development, particularly setting up a system of incentives to promote youth employment and human capital development, and the establishment of dedicated youth entrepreneurship services. It’s extremely important for countries with an aging population to prevent future serious labor shortages, which would impede their economic growth. However, it’s also important for countries with a young population to help them better use this enormous potential for accelerating their economic and social development.