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Employment & Education Recommendations

The B20 Employment and Education (EE) Taskforce published its final policy paper. It is the outcome of six months of intense discussions and hard work among almost 100 taskforce members from 26 countries and diverse economic sectors. In six teleconferences and physical meetings in Brussels, Geneva, Berlin and Paris the EE taskforce under the leadership of Chair Gerhard F. Braun, Vice-President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), developed three highly relevant recommendations to the G20:

  1. Promotion of Open, Dynamic and Inclusive Labor Markets: This should be achieved through the removal of legal and structural barriers on the labor market and the promotion of diverse forms of work. Also, governments should ensure policy frameworks that improve female entrepreneurship and female labor market participation. Finally, G20 countries should bring labor migration policies in line with labor market needs. Thus, governments should set up easy-to-understand, employment-friendly immigration law which allows easy access to the formal labor market and reduces incentives for informality.

  2. Harness the Potential of Technological Change through Better Education and Training: To achieve this, governments should implement clear and consistent regulations for businesses to operate and innovate in, while reducing bureaucracy and legal barriers to drive innovation, which can be best achieved in close collaboration with companies. Also, G20 countries should urgently invest in skills development by identifying jointly with the business community the skills needs of each country and establish in cooperation with the social partners vocational training programs that instruct workers in skills that make them competitive in the new economy. Finally, G20 countries should also promote entrepreneurship, which is crucial for more dynamic labor markets, not the least because entrepreneurs are job creators.

  3. Creation of a Global Level Playing Field and Promotion of Fair Competition: At a national level, governments should implement and enforce legislation that is respecting human rights and labor protection standards. They should also recognize that many companies are already actively contributing to creating safe and healthy working environments and there are numerous alliances, initiatives and measures, which they use to meet their responsibility in global supply chains. Finally, G20 countries should build on existing initiatives and promote the UN guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

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