Skill building at an early age is key to strengthen the work performance of youths

The development of skills among Chilean youths is, on average, above their Latin American peers, as shown in the results of the standardized knowledge tests such as PISA and TERCE. However, the differences in performance in these tests with respect to countries of the OECD are still very significant. As a consequence of low skills, many youths do not study or work, according to the 2016 Economy and Development Report (RED) "More skills for work and life: Contributions of the family, the school, the environment, and the labor world", presented today by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, at the Cafe Literario de Balmaceda, in Providencia, a neighborhood of Santiago, 

A characteristic trait of the NiNi phenomenon is its greater incidence among women, who represent approximately 70 percent of the cases, and a high proportion are already mothers. In addition, three out of four NiNi youths are not even searching for a job, that is, they are not active. Of the biggest public policy challenges is to relocate these youths in schools or promote their participation in the labor market. 

Data from the 2015 CAF Survey, carried out in 10 cities of the region, show that youths who do not study or work lag behind those who do in terms of cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical skills. Although the NiNi phenomenon is present within all socio-economic levels, it affects those in the poorest quintile (33 percent) more than it does those in the richest (8 percent). 

Although children and youths in the most vulnerable groups are being increasingly incorporated in the educational system, this does not seem to be enough to close the gaps when they go from the school world to the labor world. The 2016 RED highlights that the differences in the accumulation of human capital among children and youths of different socioeconomic level may be observed early on in their lives, even before their entrance to formal education. For example, according to data from the Longitudinal Survey on Early Childhood (ELPI, for its acronym in Spanish), Chilean children between the ages of 3 and 5 of the poorest quintile experience a 13 month lag in their language development with respect to children of the richest quintile. 

Dolores de la Mata, Principal Economist at CAF's Direction of Socioeconomic Research, stated, "To strengthen the development of early skills it is important to improve the quality of education since early childhood. To provide high quality education at this stage is essential, specially to complement the efforts of the most vulnerable families in building skills for their children, and leveling the starting point, laying the foundations of equality".  

At the same time, youths between the ages of 15 and 25 that work, currently face great difficulties in their entry to the labor market. Sixty percent of them have informal jobs, according to dsata from SEDLAC. According to the 2016 RED, the skills required are lower in the informal than in the formal sector, and as the skills that are not used deteriorate, it is important that youths have the opportunity to get formal jobs when they enter the work force.  

The report points out that having more skills implies not only getting a better quality job and being more productive, but it also impacts other dimensions of life, such as having better physical and mental health, participating more actively in civic life, completing more years of education, feeling greater satisfaction with their own lives, among other aspects of personal wellbeing. Finally, the 2016 RED highlights that in addition to school, the family, physical and social environments and the labor world are areas of crucial importance in the accumulation of skills.