ManpowerGroup Recommends Strategies for Businesses to Improve Employability Skills of Youth

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, today recommended actions for businesses to create effective and sustainable solutions for employing more young workers in order to prevent a lost generation of workers that threatens to negatively impact both individual success and the development of national economies.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110330/CG73938LOGO-a)

ManpowerGroup's new insight paper, "Wanted: Energized, Career-Driven Youth," released today at the World Economic Forum on Latin America, addresses the growing regional and global problem of youth unemployment. An increasing number of young people struggle to participate in the workforce — just 48.8% of the potential labor force in 2011, according to the International Labor Organization — even as in three employers worldwide is having difficulty finding qualified candidates, according to ManpowerGroup's latest Talent Shortage Survey.

"Today's youth face multiple remediable barriers to building employability skills. They lack skills, experience and credentials relevant to the workplace; resources to help inform career choices; and a lack of available entry-level jobs that lead to meaningful careers," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO. "Thinking needs to shift from job security to employment security – possessing the skills necessary to remain employable."

"Wanted: Energized, Career-Driven Youth" suggests business-driven solutions to the youth employment challenge, including:

• Participate in career guidance programs for youth still in school: Employers should partner with schools and other vocational institutions to improve the quality and delivery of career services for young people, who are making important decisions about their future.
• Promote a more positive image for vocational education: ManpowerGroup's Talent Shortage Surveys consistently identify technicians and skilled trades positions, yet countries as diverse as India, the United States and Mexico, vocational education programs are often perceived as inferior to an academic education. Young people, especially those in danger of dropping out of school, need to understand the high demand that exists, and the competitive salaries available, for skilled tradespeople.
• Create and engage with programs that build young people's work experience: Young people need to acquire experience that demonstrates to employers they are capable of applying skills to business tasks. Internships, project work and short-term temporary work are superior alternatives to an extended period of unemployment.
• Investments to address a shortage of career-oriented, entry-level jobs: An important strategy for expanding the number of available jobs is to expand the number of job creators. Promotion of youth entrepreneurship can directly impact potential young business-starters themselves, as well as their peers and communities.

"Employers have a vested interest in making investments to improve young people's ability to succeed in the world of work," added Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup President of the Americas. "As older workers exit the workforce, the need to nurture the next generation grows ever more critical to ease worsening talent mismatches. Energized, creative and tech-savvy youth will be the productive workers and in-demand talent of the future."

Joerres is co-chairing the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Mexico this week, with the issue of youth unemployment high on the agenda. Despite growing and young populations in countries such as Brazil and Mexico, youth unemployment remains a problem and jeopardizes the region's ability to capitalize on the shift in the global balance of power toward emerging markets.

Joerres, along with Prising and Monica Flores, ManpowerGroup MeCA Managing Director will today participate in the forum session Youth, Jobs and Dignity, discussing what concrete steps should be taken to stimulate youth employment in the region. It will focus on several areas including the skills mismatch, youth disenchantment with the labor market, and how encouraging entrepreneurship and better collaboration between governments, schools and businesses can provide the solution.

ManpowerGroup's new insights paper, "Wanted: Energized, Career-Driven Youth," is available for download from www.manpowergroup.com/research/research.cfm.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,800 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined – because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, and was once again the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. This concept of talentism as the new capitalism continues to resonate and was echoed as a core theme of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success. 

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj. Joerres is one of only six Fortune 500 CEOs who leverages a Twitter account to get his message out.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup