VOICES OF
YOUTH
SOUTH ASIAN
PERSPECTIVES ON
EDUCATION, SKILLS
AND EMPLOYMENT
JUNE 2020
2 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ACRONYMS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background: A South Asian demographic dividend
facing a skills gap
Research objectives: Understanding youths’ journey
Methodology: Using innovative data collection methods
Summary of main findings
INTRODUCTION	
Background: South Asia is in a race to get rich before
getting old	
PURPOSE, SCOPE AND USE OF
THE RESEARCH	
Research objectives: Understanding the journey of
youth from adolescence to adulthood	
Use and dissemination: The South Asia Youth Skills
and Solutions Forum
METHODOLOGY	
Research methods	
Data analysis	
Limitations of the study	
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION	
Profile of survey respondents	
Aspirations and future plans: What are young people’s
aspirations for the future and what support do they
need to achieve them?	
Barriers and challenges: What do youth perceive to be
the key barriers to employment?	
Transitioning from school to work: What are young
people’s experiences when transitioning to work?	
Looking for work: How do young people acquire
information about jobs and how do they feel about
migration?	
Developing skills: What are young people’s
preferences in skills training?
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS	
Aspirations, barriers and challenges	
Transitioning from school to work	
Looking for work	
Developing skills	
References	
ANNEX 1.
Online Questionnaire	
ANNEX 2.
FGD Protocol	
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CONTENTS
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3 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Table 1. Youth unemployment and labour force related
indicators for South Asian countries	
Table 2. Five sub-research questions	
Table 3. Methodology at-a-glance	
Table 4. Number of complete responses, by country	
Table 5. Number of FGDs conducted, by country	
Table 6. Number of FGDs conducted, by country and group
composition	
Table 7. Research themes for FGDs	
Table 8. Socio-demographic profile of VoY survey
respondents	
Table 9. Top external barriers to employment (% of
responses, by country and South Asia average) (n of
responses=44,873)	
Table 10. Top internal barriers to employment
(% of responses, by country and South Asia average) (n of
responses=53,559)	
Table 11. While in education, were you offered any
support? (South Asia weighted average, % of responses)
(n=43,809)	
Table 12. What steps have you undertaken to find jobs?
(n=52,734); Which were most useful? (n of
responses=58,511) (South Asia weighted average, % of
responses)	
Table 13. Have you received any training? (n of
responses=36,804); What other training do you think you
need? (n of responses=33,596) (South Asia weighted
average, % of responses) 	
	
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49
58
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LIST OFTABLES AND
FIGURES
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Figure 1. Demographic dividend in South Asian countries,
1950–2085	
Figure 2. What are you currently doing? (South Asia
weighted average, % of respondents) (n=32,928) 	
Figure 3. What do you see yourself doing in the next two
years? (South Asia weighted average, % of responses) (n of
responses=50,526)	
Figure 4. Respondents who selected option ‘following my
passion’ when asked what they see themselves doing in
the next 2 years (% of responses, disaggregated by level of
education) (n of responses=4,793)	
Figure 5. What do you see yourself doing in the next two
years? (% of responses, disaggregated by age bracket) (n
of responses=43,752)	
Figure 6. How confident are you that you will be able
to achieve your future job goals in two years? (% of
respondents, disaggregated by country, gender and rural/
urban area) (n=32,644)	
Figure 7. Respondents who selected option ‘start my own
business’ when asked what they see themselves doing
in the next 2 years (% of responses by country) (n of
responses=5,122)	
Figure 8. Respondents who selected option ‘no
jobs available’ or ‘employer demands bribes’ and/or
‘employer hires only within his/her network’ when asked
which two additional barriers are most difficult (% of
responses, disaggregated by level of education) (n of
responses=29,078)	
Figure 9. Respondents who cited ‘lack of education
qualifications’ and ‘lack of contacts/information’ when
asked about biggest barriers to employment (% of
responses, disaggregated by level of education) (n of
responses=16,961)	
Figure 10. What do you do with the money you earn?
(South Asia weighted average, % of respondents)
(n=7,629)	
Figure 11. Have you ever had to work while studying? (%
of respondents, disaggregated by country and South Asia
average) (n=23,161)	27
Figure 12. Have you ever had to work while studying? (%
of respondents, who answered ‘worked while studying’
and ‘dropped studies to work’, disaggregated by level of
education) (n=16,645)	
Figure 13. Have you ever applied for a job outside your
country? (% of respondents, disaggregated by level of
education) (n=4,849)	
Figure 14. Have you ever moved outside your hometown
for work? (% of respondents, disaggregated by country and
South Asia average) (n=32,673)
Figure 15. Have you ever moved outside your
hometown for work? (% of respondents, disaggregated
by country, rural/urban area and South Asia average)
(n=12,339)	
4 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
South Asia is uniquely placed to make a lasting
impact on the lives of its young people. We are
witnessing rapid transformations in every sphere, be it
in economic, civic or political spaces. Young people in
the region are ambitious and actively engaged in ideas,
enterprises and innovations. Yet, too often their voices
are missing from key discussions.
The study ‘Voices ofYouth: South Asian Perspectives
on Education, Skills and Employment’ was
conducted among 33,000 young people from
diverse backgrounds in South Asia. The study put
youth at the centre, encouraging them to speak freely
about how prepared they feel about entering the world
of work. The research team engaged with a broad
spectrum of young people, including young women
living in rural areas, youth in vulnerable work, and youth
with disabilities.
The youth surveyed offered insights that should
be heard by academics, development workers,
government officials and the business community.
Young men and women told us about their attempts to
gain skills; their future aspirations; the family pressures
on them; and the frustrations they experienced in
finding their first job. They are truth-tellers about issues
that are often hidden, like unfair hiring practices,
harassment, and bribery. Their stories are a barometer
of how well the education system, skill training, and job
matching functions are working in South Asian society.
It is crucial that we engage with them as we develop
future pathways together. I hope that by capturing the
diversity of voices in South Asia, the study will catalyse
discussions about developing policies and programmes
with young people.
South Asia lags behind several other regions in
preparing the next generation of young people
with the skills needed for work in the 21st century.
Projections show that, if current trends hold, only
46% of young people in South Asia will have the most
basic skills necessary for the workforce in 2030. It is
imperative that we commit ourselves to accelerating
young people’s access to secondary and non-formal
alternative learning pathways; skills development
and training; and empowerment, particularly for girls.
Likewise, appropriate investment is needed in young
people to expand access to 21st century skills.
In 2018, UNICEF and its partners launched the
flagship initiative ‘Generation Unlimited’ at the 73rd
session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Generation Unlimited is a call to action to tackle the
education and skills crisis that is holding back millions
of young girls and boys and ensure that every South
Asian youth is in learning, training, employment or
entrepreneurship by 2030.
South Asia is home to the world’s largest group
of young people, making them the most powerful
force for transformational change in the region. Let
us take a moment to listen to them and harness their
potential by investing in their capacities, networks, and
initiatives. If the largest generation of young people in
the world is prepared for work and engaged citizenship,
the potential for progress is unlimited.
Jean Gough, Regional Director,
UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia
SOUTH ASIA IS HOME TO THE WORLD’S LARGEST GROUP
OF YOUNG PEOPLE, MAKING THEM THE MOST POWERFUL
FORCE FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE IN THE REGION.
LET US TAKE A MOMENT TO LISTEN TO THEM AND HARNESS
THEIR POTENTIAL BY INVESTING IN THEIR CAPACITIES,
NETWORKS, AND INITIATIVES.
FOREWORD
5 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Ernst and Young India and Viamo Pakistan were
commissioned to conduct this research project and
prepared this report, in collaboration with the UNICEF
Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA). This report
was made possible through the generous support of
Generation Unlimited and UNICEF pooled funds.
The principal authors of the publication are Amit
Majumdar and Arjun Nanda (Ernst & Young India).
Samuel Bickel and Veronica Lee (UNICEF ROSA)
provided leadership for the research and production of
this report. The report also benefited from the inputs
of many colleagues throughout UNICEF and beyond,
including colleagues from UNICEF country offices
across the South Asia region.
Special thanks to Cary McCormick, Ji Eun Lee and
Rashini Suriyaarachchi for their valuable input. In
addition, Ivan Coursac, Afrika Mukaneto and Shilpa
Bista provided analytical support and Aruna Pant gave
valuable feedback.
The contribution of UNICEF’s partners, including social
mobilizers, translators, and focus group facilitators, is
gratefully acknowledged for their efforts in supporting
data collection. A special word of thanks is reserved
for the 33,200+ South Asian youth who were deeply
engaged and dedicated their time to voice their
opinions for this study. Without their contribution and
willingness to provide their insights, this research
would have not been possible.
EDITORIAL, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSISTEAMS
Core research team – Ernst &Young India
(covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka)
Amit A. Majumdar, Arjun Nanda, Bhaskar Kashyap, Gitesh
Gunjan, Prashant Sinha, Sakshi Chauhan, Sukriti Mathur, and
Vivek Kankipati
Core research team – Viamo Pakistan
(covering Pakistan)
Abdullah Saqib, Hasan Anwer, and Osman Anwar
Editorial review and guidance Samuel Bickel (UNICEF ROSA)
Veronica Lee (UNICEF ROSA)
UNICEF country office reference group Aye Aye Than and Teresa Hampson (UNICEF Afghanistan)
Iqbal Hossain and Miku Watanabe (UNICEF Bangladesh)
Natalia Mufel and Carlos Bohorquez (UNICEF Bhutan)
Anahit Minassian, Dhuwarakha Sriram and Neelam Pol
(UNICEF India)
Mazeena Jameel (UNICEF Maldives)
Pragya Shah Karki (UNICEF Nepal)
Ellen Van Kalmthout, Anna Acker and Claudio Alberti (UNICEF
Pakistan)
Mihlar Mohammad Abdul Malik and Ramiz Behbudov (UNICEF
Sri Lanka)
Copyediting Susan Sellars
Disclaimer: While UNICEF endorses this report, the views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not
necessarily represent those of the United Nations, including UNICEF or the UN Member States.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
6 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
4IR			 Fourth Industrial Revolution
ALP			 Alternative learning pathways
EY			 Ernst and Young India
FGD			 Focus group discussion
GBC-Education	 Global Business Coalition for Education
ILO	 		 International Labour Organization
OOS			Out-of-school
PwD			 Person(s) with disabilities
ROSA			 Regional Office for South Asia
TVET			 Technical and vocational education and training
UNESCO		 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF		 United Nations Children’s Fund
VoY			Voices of Youth
ACRONYMS
6 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
7 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
BACKGROUND: A SOUTH ASIAN DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND FACING
A SKILLS GAP
South Asia is home to around 1.82 billion people
and has one of the largest youth labour forces in
the world. By 2030, over 150 million people in South
Asia are expected to enter the labour market (Goretti
et al., 2019). Thus, the region will continue to have
an overwhelmingly young population for many years
to come. This young population and growing labour
force is an asset in an aging world and provides a
demographic advantage. South Asia’s young people can
drive economies and societies to be more vibrant and
productive.
However, the region faces high rates of graduate
unemployment and a young working poor in
informal and vulnerable employment. A great number
do not have the skills to succeed in the industrial,
service, and high-tech economies of South Asia. At
the same time, actual and potential economic growth
requires skilled workers, who are often in short supply.
This has led to both a skills gap and a skills mismatch
in relation to young people entering the labour market.
This mismatch leads to substantial costs in terms of lost
economic growth, as well as reduced overall wellbeing.
At the same time, the demographic dividend needs
to be realized within the context of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is bringing about
dramatic changes in the economy and labour
market. Innovations such as fintech, the Internet of
things, artificial intelligence, Blockchain and cloud
computing are reshaping the global economy in terms
of value chains, employment relations and the future
of work.The South Asian region needs to leverage
the opportunities presented to create desirable and
productive work for its youth.To achieve this, it is
imperative to understand the aspirations and experiences
of South Asian youth.
Closing the gap in youth skills and employment
begins with understanding young people’s journey
from adolescence to adulthood. Existing evidence
about their aspirations and perceptions is insufficient.
However, there has been little concerted regional
research into how South Asian young people experience
the transition in education, training or (un)employment.
To address this gap, UNICEF Regional Office for South
Asia (ROSA), Ernst &Young India and Viamo Pakistan
joined hands to conduct a regional analysis to document
the voices of youth across eight countries in the South
Asia region: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: UNDERSTANDINGYOUTHS’ JOURNEY
The aim of the study was to examine the aspirations,
perceptions, preferences and experiences of young
people who are currently in, or preparing to enter, the
workforce in South Asia. In line with this, the primary
research question of the study was: How do South
Asian youth feel about entering the world of work? To
answer this question, the following five sub-questions
guided the scope and focus of this study:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
8 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
The report is structured into five broad sections.
After an introduction on the education, skilling and
employment landscape in South Asia (Chapter 1),
Chapter 2 sets out the purpose, followed by the
methodology in Chapter 3, including the sampling
method, data collection process and limitations. The
findings and discussion are then laid out in Chapter
4, including the main takeaways from the survey
data and focus group discussions. The final section,
the conclusions and recommendations (Chapter
5), summarizes the key findings and shares some
recommendations for the consideration of practitioners,
policymakers and other stakeholders working towards
improving opportunities for South Asian youth. The
report also includes references and an annex detailing
the data collection tools.
It is hoped that the findings presented in this report
will catalyse dialogue and policy discussion among
young people, policymakers, researchers, advocates,
educators, and development practitioners who
work in education, skilling and/or employment.
The audience for this report also includes business
leaders, entrepreneurs and the private sector, especially
those who are engaged in supporting young people’s
transition from adolescence to adulthood.
METHODOLOGY: USING INNOVATIVE DATA COLLECTION METHODS
For this study, mixed methods of quantitative and
qualitative research were used. The Voices of Youth
Questionnaire was developed and administered in the
form of an online survey, followed by a qualitative deep
dive, through focus group discussions (FGDs), to better
understand the nuances behind the quantitative data.
Through both methods, the voices of 33,280 female
and male youth between the ages of 15–24 years, living
in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, were heard.
The survey questionnaire was made available
in 11 local languages and disseminated through
social media using targeted Facebook ads. Over
three months (April to June 2019), 32,928 completed
responses were gathered through Facebook
Messenger (using RapidPro/UReport). Research was
conducted in an online format through convenience
sampling. To tackle the issue of over-representation or
under-representation of certain groups, the correction
technique of ‘weighting adjustment’ was applied. This
ensured that each segment of the population – based
on country, gender and locality (urban/rural) – was
represented according to the ratio of their actual
population.
SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS
According to the survey, South Asian youth are goaloriented
and have a strong drive to achieve future
goals, but believe that they are faced with too many
barriers to overcome. They have high aspirations and
goals in life, but the opportunities available to them are
extremely limited at different stages of their education
and workforce trajectory. All these challenges have a
severe impact on the confidence levels of youth, who
feel that the odds are stacked against them.
Specifically, the following findings organized under
the five research areas, provide insights into the
experiences and expectations of South Asian youth for
their future and the challenges they face.
Aspirations and future plans
Q.1. What are young people’s aspirations for the future and what support
do they need to achieve them?
Perception of barriers and challenges Q.2. What do youth perceive to be the key barriers to employment?
Experiences transitioning from school to work Q.3. What are young people’s experiences when transitioning to work?
Preferences when looking for work
Q.4. How do young people acquire information about jobs and how do
they feel about migration?
Preferences when developing skills Q.5. What are young people’s preferences in skills training?
9 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
KEY FINDINGS
Research area: Aspirations and plans for the future
Youth are pragmatic and seek a solid place in the job market.
South Asian youth show commendable maturity and were found to be pragmatic in their aspiration to become established as
independent adults. Nearly half (49%) had a strong inclination towards wage employment, either by preferring to stay in the
same job, find a better job, or move for work. In contrast, only 9% of youth wanted to follow their passion.
Youth who had completed post-secondary education showed a greater inclination to follow their passion (10%), compared
to youth with no formal education (6%). This could imply that youth with higher levels of education are better prepared and
equipped to choose career paths on their own terms.
For most youth, education is a means to an end – after concluding their education, most of
them aspire to join the workforce.
The inclination towards education decreases as the age group increases, reflecting a greater desire for financial independence
and a stable income. As youth complete secondary, tertiary, or technical and vocational education they are less inclined to
pursue further education or skill enhancement. Instead, they expect to enter the workforce and earn an income.
Despite having a clear vision of what they hope to achieve, South Asian youth do not seem to
be confident about achieving their goals.
There is a broad crisis in youth confidence about achieving their goals. Overall, across South Asia, only 61% of respondents
said that they are confident about achieving their goals. This does not seem to be a high proportion, considering that youth is
generally a time of optimism.
Overall, male youth were found be substantially more confident (∆6 percentage points more) in achieving their goals than
female youth. In addition, sense of confidence increased with education level, from 49% for respondents with no formal
education to 70% for respondents with post-secondary education. This could imply that better economic means and
qualifications through higher education instil a higher sense of self-confidence in youth, compared to those without formal
education.
Few South Asian youth are entrepreneurs, and would-be entrepreneurs face many obstacles.
Those who are engaged in entrepreneurship or aspire to do so, face various obstacles, regarding finances, resources, skills
and obtaining the right guidance. About 11% of youth aspire to start their own business, but among survey respondents only
5% are presently entrepreneurs. This could indicate that South Asian youth prioritize finding stable employment rather than
undertaking entrepreneurial ventures, which often entails risk-taking, seed money and no immediate financial returns.
KEY FINDINGS
Research area: Barriers and challenges
Youth believe that, by far, the strongest external barrier is hiring practices that are
discriminatory and unfair.
There is a strong concern among South Asian youth about negative employer behaviours in terms of hiring practices that are
unfair, discriminatory or corrupt (influenced by bribery). Among the top external barriers to employment, 23% of young people
raised the issue of ‘employers only hiring within their own network’ and 15% cited concerns about ‘employers demanding
bribes’. Youth believe that most of jobs are given out by employers within their network, thus for those with limited contacts,
the path to finding employment is steep.
10 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Lack of jobs was the main barrier faced by youth with low education levels from rural areas,
whereas unfair hiring practices was the main obstacle for those with education.
Limited availability of jobs (28%) was the top external barrier to employment among South Asians, especially for youth with
no formal education. For 38% of youth with no formal education, jobs not being available was a major challenge, whereas this
perception dexacreased as the level of education increased.
The perception of nepotism and bribery in hiring practices was more prevalent (48%) among those with post-secondary
education looking for ‘white collar’ jobs. The proportion of youth citing this particular barrier dropped (28%) as the level of
education decreased.
Contacts are immensely important in opening doors to employment; youth benefit massively
when they have contacts and it is detrimental when they do not.
‘Limited work experience’ (29%) and ‘lack of contacts and/or information’ (22%) were consistently the top internal barriers
cited by youth in all countries in the region. This is particularly a dilemma for young people entering the job market for the first
time, when prior work experience is often expected by employees. As new entrants with limited experience and contacts, the
odds are against them.
While successful youth will perceive having contacts as a good thing, those who are unsuccessful will find the practice of
hiring within a network unfair. Contacts are, therefore, immensely important in opening doors to employment and youth
benefit massively when they have access to them, but perceive it as unfair favouritism when they do not.
Young women face multiple obstacles and are more disadvantaged than their male
counterparts in accessing work.
Young women in South Asia cite additional and more deep-rooted barriers to overcome when accessing work. Women felt that
nepotism in hiring practices impacted on them more, compared to their male counterparts. Similarly, more women considered
discrimination as a barrier to employment than men. In all countries, except Afghanistan, women felt that discrimination
affected them more than men (∆3 percentage points).
Limited physical mobility among young women, adds to other disadvantages, such as male preference by employers. Male
youth (52%) were more open to move for work compared to their female counterparts (37%).
KEY FINDINGS
Research area:Transitioning from school to work
South Asian youth feel there are not enough support services available to improve
employability and want more support in transitioning from school to employment.
When asked about career support received while in education, nearly a quarter of youth (24%) had not received any form
of employability enhancing services (meeting a career advisor, aptitude testing etc.). ‘No support’ constituted the highest
proportion of responses in six South Asian countries, excluding Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
The youth from South Asia find entering the job market an uphill task, due to limited support from the government and
education institutions. Among those who had received support services from school/education institutions, less than half
(45%) agreed that the support received had improved their chances of getting a job. Youth want more support in transitioning
from education to employment.
South Asian youth believe that the education system does not sufficiently prepare them for
quality work and employment.
South Asian youth cited difficulties in transitioning from education to work immediately after completing their education.
Overall, 29% of South Asian youth mentioned ‘lack of work experience’ as the top barrier to finding employment. Many youth
perceive that the current education system is outdated and that they lack industry-ready skills.
11 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Pressure on youth to financially support their families leads them to make difficult choices
early in life, possibly leading to lower work prospects.
Lack of financial means and pressure to support themselves and their families force many youth to join the workforce at an
early age. When working youth were asked at what age they had started working, 58% responded between 15–20 years of
age.
Slightly over half of youth (53%) indicated that they spend their earnings on their parents and siblings, and an additional
18% stated that their earnings went to support extended family. This suggests that many South Asian youth may enter the
workforce to support their families, which subsequently affects their choices and motivations in relation to employment.
The majority of youth in South Asia reported working while studying. Overall, 41% stated that they had worked while studying,
whereas 22% of respondents had aimed to do so, but could not due to unavailability of work.
Family is hugely important for youth and plays a major role in determining their transition
from school to work.
When asked about various barriers and pathways to getting a job, South Asian youth revealed that career choices are strongly
influenced by family. In the survey, 12% of South Asian youth identified ‘family pressure’ as a top barrier to employment –
highest in India (14%) and lowest in Bhutan (5%). The freedom and ability to make one’s own choices varies across groups;
some young women reported not being permitted by their family or society to work outside their home or pursue education.
Education is a crucial determinant in defining a young person’s long-term employment
trajectory.
As the level of education increases, the tendency to drop studying for work decreases. With less education, youth tend to
drop their studies for work (31% for respondents with no formal education, compared to 5% of those with post-secondary
education). Survey results indicate that youth with no or low levels of education are up to 6 times more likely to drop out of
school to work and more susceptible to vulnerable employment.
KEY FINDINGS
Research area: Looking for work
Looking for jobs via the Internet, newspapers, approaching employers and seeking help from
personal networks were found to be the most popular and effective methods of finding a job.
Survey results show that South Asian youth rely primarily on personal efforts (Internet searches, newspaper advertisements,
approaching employers – 34%) and networks (family and friends – 28%) to find jobs. Among the ways that youth find jobs and
the methods identified as most useful, personal contacts and networks was the second most common method, and the most
useful method, used by youth to find jobs. Informal social networks were used in more than 45% of the cases. Tapping into
social networks is, therefore, clearly an important way through which youth are matched and enter the labour market in the
region.
Institutional mechanisms supporting youth employment, such as government programmes, are rarely used or considered
unhelpful. This suggests that many existing job-matching initiatives are ineffective in connecting prospective workers with
potential employees.
Youth with low levels of education are more likely to look for jobs abroad.
When asked whether they had ever applied for a job abroad, 15% of respondents had applied for jobs outside their home
country. Among those who applied for jobs abroad, the percentage was higher among youth with no formal education (20%) in
comparison to those with tertiary education (14%). The highest level of international migration for work was observed among
the least educated, at 11%, compared to 3% of those with education. It can be inferred that going abroad for work is more
prevalent in South Asia among youth doing ‘blue collar’ jobs. This was corroborated in the FGDs conducted with technical
and vocational education and training (TVET) students, where certification was a pathway to finding work abroad for some,
especially for male youth.
12 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Most youth in South Asia, especially men and those from rural areas, migrate out of their
hometowns to look for meaningful employment.
An important number of youth had moved within their country in search of job opportunities. Overall, 43% of respondents
had migrated out of their hometown for job opportunities. Moving for work, either abroad or within the country was more
widespread among youth living in rural areas across all South Asian countries. In particular, rural youth moved within the
country for work more often (11 percentage points higher than urban youth). Also, more men claimed to have moved for work
compared to women (difference of ∆12 percentage points).
Migration can be a good thing, as it allows talent to be made available in locations where jobs are consolidated leading to
economic growth, but it also requires youth to uproot their life and can add to their struggle.
KEY FINDINGS
Research area: Developing skills
Youth see value in technical and vocational education and training, but it is not aspirational in
its current form and delivery.
Although TVET programmes are available in most parts of South Asia, they were not found to be aspirational among youth.
South Asian youth see value in the practical and technical skills that TVET courses offer, and over half of respondents (58%)
indicated that they would be interested in some form of TVET. However, not more than 6% of respondents favoured enrolling
in a TVET programme in the next two years.
In the FGDs, youth attributed this to: limited career progression, lack of practical knowledge, poor infrastructure, difficulty in
accessing training centres, lack of entrepreneurship modules, low recognition of certification, and outdated curriculum. Other
reasons identified were lack of recognition by society and the perception that TVET courses are a ‘backup’ option for ‘less
academically-inclined’ students.
South Asian youth value soft skills as much as hard skills, but not enough youth are receiving
the necessary training.
South Asian youth value soft skills as much as hard skills in education and employment. When asked about the skills that youth
required more training on, the most desired areas were: information and IT skills (27%), interpersonal and communication skills
(21%) and resource management skills (19%).
Youth from all backgrounds were keen to continue learning, upskilling and reskilling in order to improve their future jobs
prospects. In FGDs across South Asia, youth with access to technology reported using the Internet and social media for
information, skill development and learning.
While South Asian youth place considerable value on skills, there is not enough skills training being delivered. In particular,
youth with no formal education received less training in interpersonal and communication skills than those with some formal
education. Overall, 25% of respondents cited that they had not received any skills training, especially young women.
13 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
BACKGROUND: SOUTH ASIA IS IN A RACETO GET RICH BEFORE
GETTING OLD
South Asia is home to around 1.82 billion people
and has one of the largest youth labour forces in
the world. By 2030, over 150 million people in South
Asia are expected to enter the labour market (Goretti
et al., 2019). The changing demographic landscape
worldwide – growth in the global population and the
rise of the ageing population – is projected to have
a significant impact on the future of labour markets.
South Asia is also the youngest and most densely
populated region in Asia, with almost half of its
population of 1.82 billion below the age of 24. Thus,
leveraging its demographic dividend,1
the region is
envisaged to be a key supplier to the global labour pool
in the coming years, with an increasing number of
young people entering the working age population.
The region has one of the largest youth2
labour
forces in the world, with nearly 100,000 young
people entering the labour market each day. Based
on demographic trends, by 2030, more than 150
million people in the region are expected to enter the
labour market (Goretti et al., 2019). Countries in South
Asia are in different stages of demographic transition.
Most countries will reach the peak of their working
age population between 2030–2045, except for Sri
Lanka, which is ahead in the transition and whose
elderly population is growing. In India, the number of
working-age people will increase until 2050, when the
population in the age group 15–64 years will be more
than 1 billion. Afghanistan and Pakistan, which both
have a relatively young population, will experience
growth in the working-age population beyond 2050
(UNDP, 2016).
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
1
The term ‘demographic dividend’ refers to the economic growth that can be achieved by having proportionally more working-age people as a share
of the population and is driven by the demographic transition of a country’s population (Bloom et al., 2003). The window of opportunity for countries to
reap a demographic dividend is closely linked to the changes in a country’s population age structure. The window opens when the dependency ratio is
low or decreasing (equivalent to an increase in the share of the working-age population).
2
For the purposes of this study and for statistical consistency across countries in the region, youth are defined as those young people between 15–24
years of age.
13 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
14 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FIGURE 1
Demographic dividend in South Asian countries, 1950–2085
Source: UNICEF analysis based on World Bank, Global Monitoring Report 2015/2016, 2016 & UNDESA, World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, 2017; Note: Countries
sorted from top to bottom based on dividend type (from pre-dividend to post-dividend) and total fertility rate.
Sri Lanka
Bhutan
Maldives
Bangladesh
Nepal
India
Pakistan
Afghanistan
1990 2000 2015 2030 2050 2060 2070 2080
pre-dividend early-dividend late-dividend post-dividend
With an overwhelmingly young population and
workforce, South Asia is in a race to get rich before
getting old. The growing share of working age
population in the region – the demographic dividend – is
an asset in an aging world and provides a demographic
advantage to drive productive economies and vibrant
societies. To reap the maximum benefits from the
demographic dividend, increased opportunities for
participation in the labour force need to be created,
especially for female youth, and the acquisition of
necessary skills for 21st century economies should be
analysed to ensure alignment with labour market needs
(UNICEF, forthcoming 2020). The demographic dividend
cannot be reaped automatically, South Asian countries
need to make the necessary investments in education,
skills development and labour markets to fully realize
the economic opportunities and transform future
generations of young people.
South Asia has shown robust economic growth
and improvements in access to education, but
unemployment remains a challenge. South Asia is
one of the fastest growing regions in the world, with
growth significantly higher than the global average.
The region has also made significant progress in
improving participation in education, with enrolment
rates increasing from 75% in 2000 to 87.7% in 2018
in primary education and 39% to 60.5% in secondary
education in the same period (Beyer et al., 2019).
Despite this, employment rates across the South Asian
region have been falling. According to the World Bank,
between 2005 to 2015, the number of working-age
people increased, but the fraction of working age people
at work declined in most South Asian countries.
15 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
COUNTRY TOTAL LABOUR
FORCE (IN MILLIONS)
2019
AGE DEPENDENCY
RATIO (YOUNG
PEOPLE AS % OF
WORKING-AGE
POPULATION, AGED
15–24) 2018
UNEMPLOYMENT
(YOUTH AS % OF
TOTAL LABOUR
FORCE, AGED 15–24)
(MODELLED ILO
ESTIMATE) 2019
LABOUR FORCE
PARTICIPATION RATE
(% OF YOUTH, AGED
15–24,) (MODELLED
ILO ESTIMATE) 2019
Afghanistan 14.45 79.32 2.60 57.15
Bangladesh 0.38 37.77 9.69 31.42
Bhutan 69.70 41.27 11.92 41.71
India 519.46 40.52 10.51 30.15
Maldives 0.27 26.46 18.41 52.12
Nepal 16.71 47.63 2.13 73.63
Pakistan 75.14 58.38 6.01 41.88
Sri Lanka 8.64 37.04 22.72 25.48
TABLE 1
Youth unemployment and labour force related indicators for South Asian countries
Source: UNDESA, World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision, 2019 & ILOSTAT database and World Bank
The young and large workforce can be a strength
for South Asia; however, youth unemployment rates
are high, with substantial numbers of the youth
population engaged in vulnerable and informal
employment. The region faces high rates of graduates
unemployed and young working poor in informal and
vulnerable employment. This large young working poor
are often forced to work in hazardous conditions and for
long hours and low pay in lower value-added sectors in
agriculture, manual labour and the informal economy.
THE YOUNG AND LARGE WORKFORCE CAN BE A STRENGTH
FOR SOUTH ASIA; HOWEVER, YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
RATES ARE HIGH, WITH SUBSTANTIAL NUMBERS OF THE
YOUTH POPULATION ENGAGED IN VULNERABLE AND
INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT.
16 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Despite efforts towards achieving gender parity,
the gender gap in South Asia is the second largest
in the world. As per the Global Gender Gap report of
World Economic Forum, South Asian has been able
to close two-thirds of its gender gap. The region has
progressed the most since 2006, gaining six percentage
points (World Economic Forum, 2020). In 2006, the gap
stood at 20%, which was largest among all regions in
the world, but has now dropped to 6%. However, the
economic participation and opportunity gap in South Asia
remains wider than in previous assessment reports. The
regional average score on the economic participation
and opportunity sub-index is the second lowest in
South Asia (36.5%), which means that less than half
of the women participate in the labour force. Women
in the region also account for most of the decline in
employment rates. Between 2005 and 2015, women’s
employment declined by 5% a year in India, 3% a year
in Bhutan and 1% a year in Sri Lanka (Rama & Revenga,
2018; Reyes, 2019).
The current education system in South Asia is not
able to lay the foundations for young people to
become employable. Projections show that according
to current trends, more than half of the youth workforce
(54%) are not on track to have the education and skills
necessary for employment in 2030 (Global Business
Coalition for Education & The Education Commission,
2019). Curricula at school and college levels have limited
elements of practical knowledge in vocational subjects
and they are not aligned with the changing demands of
the labour market. Furthermore, South Asia is home to
28 million out-of-school (OOS) children – 10 million at
primary level and 18 million at lower secondary level –
the highest number of OOS children and adolescents
in the world (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2019).
Secondary education is an important determinant of
a young person’s employment trajectory, but in South
Asia, enrolment rates are low, with the poorest girls
having the lowest lower and upper secondary education
completion rates (ILO & UNICEF, 2018).
The most significant imbalances in the
labour market, such as unemployment and
underemployment, are increasingly linked to the
growing mismatch between demand for, and supply
of, workers with specific capabilities. A great number
of young people do not have the skills to succeed in the
industrial, service, or high-tech economies in South Asia,
and TVET programmes are often left on the periphery.
At the same time, actual and potential economic
growth requires skilled workers, who are often in short
supply. The result is a significant skills and employment
challenge – a skills gap that contributes to high levels
of unemployment for higher education graduates and
large informal economies where young workers are in
vulnerable employment. This leads to both a skills gap
and a skills mismatch experienced by young people
entering the labour market. This mismatch leads to
substantial costs in terms of lost economic growth, as
well as reduced overall wellbeing.
The demographic dividend in South Asia needs to be
realized within the context of the Fourth Industrial
Revolution (4IR)3
. Globally, nearly 50% of the jobs we
are preparing young people for today will not exist by the
time they enter the workforce (Armstrong et al., 2018).
Digital and automation disruptions are bringing about
dramatic changes and transforming society, economies,
jobs, and people’s personal lives. South Asia needs to
leverage the opportunities presented in order to create
a desirable and productive future of work for its youth.
Given the size of the youth population in the region,
it is imperative to understand their aspirations and
experiences to inform ways to reskill and upskill youth
on a large scale.
3
First coined by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, 4IR is “a fusion of technologies that is blurring the
lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres”, a process defined by “velocity, scope, and systems impact” unlike ever seen before. 4IR
will likely have far-reaching implications for almost every aspect of daily life, affecting how individuals interact with technology, and transforming where
and how work is done. Yet, this exponential progress is only visible to, and accessed by, some. Its effects vary by country and culture, necessitating
different approaches to address issues of automation and digitalization (Armstrong et al., 2018).
17 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: UNDERSTANDINGTHE JOURNEY OF
YOUTH FROM ADOLESCENCETO ADULTHOOD
The aim of the study was to examine the aspirations, perceptions, preferences and experiences of South
Asian youth (aged 15–24 years) who are currently in, or preparing to, enter the workforce. In line with this,
the primary research question was: How do South Asian youth feel about entering the world of work? which was
investigated using the following five research questions (Table 2).
Aspirations Aspirations and future plans Q.1. What are young people’s aspirations for the future
and what support do they need to achieve them?
Perceptions Barriers and challenges Q.2. What do youth perceive to be the key barriers to
employment?
Experiences Transitioning from school to work Q.3. What are young people’s experiences when
transitioning to work?
Preferences Looking for work Q.4. How do young people acquire information about
jobs and how do they feel about migration?
Developing skills Q.5. What are young people’s preferences in skills
training?
TABLE 2
Five sub-research questions
PURPOSE, SCOPE AND
USE OFTHE RESEARCH
CHAPTER 2
The study focused on eight countries in South Asia
– Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Until now, there had
been little concerted regional level research into how
young people in South Asia experience and perceive
education, training and/or (un)employment. The existing
evidence is even more insufficient within the context of
the future of work and the demographic dividend in the
region. To address this gap, a regional study compiling
youth voices was conducted across the region.
The study is a collaboration between UNICEF ROSA,
Ernst &Young India (EY) and Viamo Pakistan. UNICEF
conducted a major review of the evidence on youth and
skilling, focusing on the transition to work in South Asian
economies. The Voices of Youth (VoY) study alongside
other regional and country reports, are part of the overall
research effort: ‘Developing Skills in Youth to Succeed in
the Evolving South Asian Economy’.
18 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Taking the position that young people’s views matter,VoY was commissioned as a separate study dedicated
to understanding the journeys of youth towards labour market integration. While reasons concerning
inadequate skills and employment opportunities in youth need to be identified, diagnosed and addressed from the
labour demand side, it is also imperative to examine the labour supply side of the skill development ecosystem.
Hearing the voices of youth not only aids in the mapping of their aspirations to that of the needs of industry, but also
helps to understand and align their needs with policy interventions inclusive of different segments youth.
UNICEF ROSA commissioned Ernst &Young India to conduct the study ‘Developing Skills inYouth to
Succeed in the Evolving South Asian Economy’.The objectives of the study were to
•	 Identify the actual and future trends in job force skills needs, including understanding what is happening now in the youth
skills ecosystem through, inter alia, secondary education and apprenticeship initiatives
•	 ‘Hear’ the voices of South Asian youth in relation to their aspirations and understanding of how labour markets
work
•	 Identify proven or promising solutions that can take youth skills development to scale, especially those that include
significant private sector efforts
•	 Devise models relating specific skills development efforts to broader policies and support structures in order to show a
way forward for taking solutions to scale.
UNICEF country offices in South Asia created national reference groups in each country that supported the evidence generation
efforts and participated in national consultations to discuss the findings of the studies.The work was overseen by UNICEF
ROSA via an internal steering committee and an external regional reference group that provided both, expert commentary on
the findings, as well as advice on the structure and content of the South AsiaYouth Skills and Solutions Forum.
© UNICEF India/2019/Sundararajan
19 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
USE AND DISSEMINATION:THE SOUTH ASIAYOUTH SKILLS AND
SOLUTIONS FORUM
The findings of the VoY report were disseminated
and presented at the South AsiaYouth Skills and
Solutions Forum. The event was co-hosted by UNICEF
ROSA, the Global Business Coalition for Education
(GBC-Education) and Generation Unlimited and took
place in October 2019 in Mumbai, India. The Forum
brought together a total of 256 participants from eight
South Asian countries.
The preliminary VoY findings were presented at
the Forum by South Asian youth delegates and key
aspects of the study were discussed at a youth-led
intergenerational dialogue engaging young and
adult panellists. South Asian youth representatives
– innovators, entrepreneurs, youth leaders and social
mobilizers from various walks of life – played a key role
in co-designing the sessions, as well as in deciding
which findings from the study to highlight. They were
able to articulate their priorities and send a powerful
signal to businesses and governments about their
aspirations and needs in relation to the future of
education, skills, and employment.
The preliminary VoY findings were also shared
with Forum participants in the form of a summary
handout and presented at the event using audiovisual
materials. UNICEF ROSA and GBC-Education
also issued a press release on 29 October to global and
national media. The press release featured the VoY study
and new data that highlighted that more than half of
South Asian youth are not on track to have the education
and skills necessary for employment in 2030, which
was picked up by over 30 outlets around the region
and globally. Country specific VoY presentations were
also delivered at national level advocacy events and
consultations with governments, corporate stakeholders
and development partners.
It is hoped that the findings presented in this
report will continue to catalyse dialogue and policy
discussions among young people, policymakers,
researchers, advocates, educators, and development
practitioners who work in education, skilling
and/or employment, as well as business leaders,
entrepreneurs and the private sector, especially
those who are engaged in supporting young
people’s transition from adolescence to adulthood.
The findings and recommendations from this study
provide entry points that relevant stakeholders can
consider when improving young people’s suitability
for the market in present and emerging South Asia
economies.
Dulan Dias, youth delegate from
Sri Lanka delivering the Voices of
Youth presentation at the Forum.
©UNICEF ROSA/2019
IT IS HOPED THAT THE
FINDINGS PRESENTED
IN THIS REPORT WILL
CONTINUE TO CATALYSE
DIALOGUE AND POLICY
DISCUSSIONS AMONG YOUNG
PEOPLE, POLICYMAKERS,
RESEARCHERS,
ADVOCATES, EDUCATORS,
AND DEVELOPMENT
PRACTITIONERS.
20 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Young people’s stories from South Asia
To support and complement the VoY study, the UNICEF Communications Teams developed a series of photographs and
text narratives to visually highlight young people’s voices. UNICEF produced 21 picture stories and 13 video narratives
covering the eight countries in the region. These were showcased at the South Asia Youth Skills and Solutions Forum and
disseminated through a social media campaign. The stories were watched, shared, commented on and liked on social media
channels almost 20 million times.
Male and female youth of diverse nationalities and backgrounds described their unique experiences regarding education,
skills training and (un)employment. Their narratives were also captured and turned into a storybook that was distributed to
Forum attendees.
Some of the compelling picture stories that support the VoY findings have been incorporated in this study and are presented
throughout the findings section of this report. All adolescents who have told us their stories were required to give their
written consent prior to participation, in addition to parental/guardian consent.
Fatema is a differently abled adolescent who dropped out of school
and works at a beauty parlour in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.
©UNICEF Bangladesh/2019/Sujan
20 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
21 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
The primary research question of the study was: How do South Asian youth feel about entering the world of
work? To answer this question, five specific research questions (as mentioned in Chapter 2) guided the scope and
methodology focus of this study.
RESEARCH
THEMES
Aspirations
on future plans
Perceptions
on barriers and
challenges
Experiences
transitioning from
school to work
Preferences
when looking for
work
Preferences
when
developing skills
TABLE 3
Methodology at-a-glance
RESEARCH
METHODS
Online survey
(32,928 complete responses)
Focus group discussions
(29 FGDs/352 participants)
COUNTRIES4
Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
4
The countries were selected based on regional representation within the South Asia region.
METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 3
The design of this research is descriptive, using
a mixed-method approach to make population
inferences from a non-probability sample. Thus,
although the survey sampling methodology does not
ensure representativeness, to address the potential
over-representation or under-representation of certain
groups, the correction technique of ‘weighting
adjustment’ was applied at the post-survey stage. This
allowed for generalizations to be made about the youth
population in the region – creating a ‘South Asia average’
– and ensured representation in terms of the ratio of
actual population based on country, gender and locality
(urban/rural).
RESEARCH METHODS
To capture the aspirations, perceptions, preferences and experiences of South Asian youth currently in,
or preparing to enter, the workforce, quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to collect
data from youth between the ages of 15–24 years in the eight countries studied. Both methods enabled a
balance between empirical analysis and individualized narratives, creating a snapshot of the experiences, views, and
aspirations of young people in South Asia.
Survey
An online questionnaire was developed by UNICEF
ROSA and EY as the primary survey instrument (see
Annex 1). It consisted of 34 questions and covered all
aspects of the five core research questions as well as
demographic questions. The survey was formulated in
English and then translated into 10 local languages –
English (Maldives and Bhutan), Bengali (Bangladesh and
India), Dari and Pashto (Afghanistan), Hindi and Telegu
(India), Nepali (Nepal), Sinhalese and Tamil (Sri Lanka),
and Urdu (Pakistan).
22 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
5
U-Report is UNICEF’s youth and citizen engagement platform. It is a free tool for community participation, designed to empower and connect
young people around the world to engage with and speak out on issues that matter to them. For VoY, survey respondents did not need to be already
registered with U-Report in order to participate.
6
RapidPro collects data via short message service (SMS) and other communication channels (e.g., social media channels, such as Facebook
Messenger) to enable real-time data collection and mass-communication with target end-users.
The survey was administered in an online format
through Facebook Messenger, using the U-Report5
platform and powered with RapidPro6
technology.
Respondents were able to answer the questionnaire
using the web, tablets, and smart phones. In Pakistan,
the same data collection process was conducted by
Viamo Pakistan using their own SMS platforms. The
questionnaire was laid out in an interactive format and
took approximately 15 minutes to complete. It could
be completed all at once or over a number of days.
Features such as automated reminders (for those not
responding), and interactive elements such as the use
of fun emoticons, were integrated in the questionnaire
to hold the attention of respondents and ensure the
completeness of responses as much as possible.
The survey was pre-tested by UNICEF ROSA with
two groups of youth (15–16 year olds and 18–24 year
olds) attending two education institutions located
in Kathmandu, Nepal. A short code was provided to
respondents to enable them to access the online survey
on Facebook Messenger. A debrief discussion was
conducted after completing the survey and feedback
was provided. Suggestions were given in terms of the
wording and meaning of certain questions, as well as
the questionnaire flow and length. Youth participants
provided valuable suggestions for improvement and the
survey was revised accordingly.
The online survey was disseminated by UNICEF
ROSA and Viamo through social media using
targeted Facebook ads. A VoY Survey Advertising
Plan was developed to ensure maximum outreach to
those aged 15–24 in the eight countries. Facebook ads
translated in local languages, were disseminated in
each country, considering demographic segmentation
based on: gender, age, language, and locality (cities and
outside main urban areas). Where audiences were big
enough to warrant qualifying (over 1 million), interestbased
Facebook targeting was used to reach those
who engage with content related to the themes of
this research. Ads were tested in each country, with at
least two different creative variations for every single
ad set. If the respondent clicked on the Facebook ad,
they were redirected to Facebook Messenger to start
the survey. No names or identification were collected
from survey participants. The number of views and clicks
on ad sets, the number of respondents per country,
and the completion rate were monitored on a weekly
basis. Based on this information, the advertising plan
and strategy was adjusted as necessary with additional
advertising in underperforming locations.
VoY questionnaire on Facebook Messenger ©UNICEF ROSA/2019 Example of a VoY Facebook Ad that was used in Bhutan ©UNICEF ROSA/2019
23 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
To increase the likelihood of clicking on the ad and
to incentivize respondents to complete the survey,
the Facebook ads mentioned a mobile phone
credit prize, equivalent to 10 dollars. Two to three
winning survey participants per country were selected
considering diversity in terms of gender, age, and
locality. The phone credit transfer to winning survey
participants was undertaken by the relevant UNICEF
country office.
UNICEF country offices in South Asia ensured that
the most vulnerable, marginalized, and hard-toreach
youth – particularly those already engaged in
UNICEF programming – participated in the survey.
UNICEF widely shared the online survey link with
their local network (including schools, employment
services, education and training institutes, civil society
organizations, etc.). In some countries, social mobilizers
facilitated the interaction of certain ‘unconnected’
groups by providing access to smart phones, tablets,
or laptop devices so that respondents could access
the online survey.This kind of outreach via trusted
intermediaries was done with the assistance of UNICEF’s
local partners (e.g., schools, youth organizations, civil
society organizations, U-Reporters, etc.).
Over approximately three months (April 2019 to
June 2019), 32,928 complete responses7
were
gathered from 8 South Asian countries through
social media. A single respondent may have given a
valid response for one question, but invalid response for
another. Therefore, the number of valid responses varies
for each question and data was cleaned accordingly. The
average completion rate – respondents who completed
all survey questions – across all countries was 74%.
Data protection and privacy concerns are the
foundation of all responsible data gathering
exercises. Hence, this consideration was included in
the design stage of the survey. The online questionnaire
included the terms detailing consent, data protection
and privacy. The informed consent of the respondents
was sought on the first page of the online survey. The
survey was anonymous and did not track answers by
personal identity.
SN COUNTRY NUMBER OF COMPLETE
RESPONSES
1 Afghanistan 5,151
2 Bangladesh 9,725
3 Bhutan 737
4 India 8,100
5 Sri Lanka 2,084
6 Maldives 280
7 Nepal 4,525
8 Pakistan 2,326
TOTAL 32,928
TABLE 4
Number of complete responses, by country
OVER APPROXIMATELY THREE MONTHS (APRIL 2019
TO JUNE 2019), 32,928 COMPLETE RESPONSES
WERE GATHERED FROM 8 SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES
THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
7
The question ‘How old are you’ in the online survey allowed respondents belonging to age group above 24 or below 15 to be excluded from the
analysis.
24 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Sampling and weight adjustments
Research was conducted in an online format through
non-probability convenience sampling. In online
surveys, under-coverage and self-selection lead to
biased estimates and, thus, the sample population is
not representative of the actual population. To tackle the
issue of the over-representation or under-representation
of certain groups, the correction technique of ‘weighting
adjustment’ was applied at the post-survey stage. This
ensured that each segment of the youth population
– based on country, gender and urban/rural areas – is
represented according to the ratio of their actual
population.
The corrections done through weighting adjustment
allowed for some generalizations to be made about
the youth population in the region. This adjustment
assigns a weight to each survey respondent. Persons
in groups that are under-represented receive a weight
larger than 1 and those in over-represented groups
receive a weight smaller than 1.
Calculation of weights for various sub-groups: Weights were calculated by gender and rural/urban areas
(such as rural male, urban male, rural female, and urban female) for the different countries. The proper ratios
were established based on demographics. Thus, a nation that is, for instance, 60% rural should have 60% of
the responses from rural survey respondents. These responses were further divided and disaggregation by
gender (male/female).
For example, weight for rural male = ratio of proportion of rural males in the country, divided by proportion of
rural males in sample. Likewise, weights for other subgroups were calculated.
Calculation of the results: The results were calculated in terms of the percentage of respondents choosing an
option for a particular country.
For example, the number of responses choosing a particular option, multiplied by the weights (in point 1),
divided by the total number of responses multiplied by the weights.
Calculation of South Asian average: A weighted average that is regionally representative was created. This
means that the weighted proportion of respondents who selected a specific option in a question was obtained
by a weighted average of the proportion for each country, weighted by the population of the country. This gave
a higher weight to India, for instance, and lower weights to the Maldives and Bhutan. In practical terms, it
means that a regional average will hypothetically include about 1 response from the Maldives to each 3,500
from India.
For example, (point 2) for country A multiplied by population of country A + (point 2) for country B multiplied by
population of country B +, so on and so forth, divided by the total youth population of South Asia.
THE CORRECTIONS DONE THROUGH
WEIGHTING ADJUSTMENT ALLOWED FOR SOME
GENERALIZATIONS TO BE MADE ABOUT THE YOUTH
POPULATION IN THE REGION.
25 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
SN COUNTRY NO. OF FGDS
CONDUCTED
NO. OF MALE
PARTICIPANTS
NO. OF FEMALE
PARTICIPANTS
1 Afghanistan 3 25 13
2 Bangladesh 4 6 38
3 Bhutan 2 10 10
4 India 4 13 42
5 Maldives 3 10 12
6 Nepal 3 19 35
7 Sri Lanka 3 6 23
8 Pakistan 7 45 45
TOTAL 29 134 218
TABLE 5
Number of FDGs conducted, by country
Focus group discussions
Through FGDs, youth’s opinions and stories were
collected, to unpack in more depth young people’s
experiences and perspectives on education, skills
and the labour market. This was done to collect
in-depth qualitative data on the perceptions of the
target population and validate insights from the survey,
especially keeping in mind vulnerable and underprivileged
groups from the region. The FGDs were
semi-structured and followed the instructions and
guidelines from the VoY FGD Protocol, developed by EY
and UNICEF ROSA (see Annex 2).
A total of 29 FGDs involving 352 youth participants
(134 male and 218 female) were conducted in each
of the 8 countries studied. The FGDs were conducted
for a duration of approximately 1.5 to 2 hours and were
facilitated by a main facilitator and an interpreter/note
taker. Detailed qualitative insights were discussed with
mixed groups of 10–15 participants; depending on the
local context, separate FGDs were conducted by gender.
Discussions were formally recorded and transcribed in
English using a common template. The names of the
participants were anonymized by facilitators during note
taking. The informed consent of participants was sought
and received at the beginning of each discussion.
A TOTAL OF 29 FGDS INVOLVING 352 YOUTH PARTICIPANTS
(134 MALE AND 218 FEMALE) WERE CONDUCTED IN EACH
OF THE 8 COUNTRIES STUDIED.
26 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FGD GROUP
COMPOSITION
AFGHANISTAN BANGLADESH BHUTAN INDIA MALDIVES NEPAL SRI
LANKA
PAKISTAN
Youth from urban
locations engaged
in low paying and/or
informal economy
1 1 - - - - - Working
youth in
rural locations from
low income families
- - - - 1 - - 1
Students or alumni
of TVET institutions
- 1 1 1 1 1 2 3
Differently-abled
youth
- 1 1 - 1 - 1 Youth
in vulnerable
employment
(engaged in low
paying, informal
economy and/or
hazardous job)
1 - - 1 - - - 2
Youth migrating for
work
1 1 - - - 1 - -
Entrepreneurs/self-
employed
- - - 2 - 1 - 1
TOTAL 3 4 2 4 3 3 3 7
TABLE 6
Number of FGDs conducted, by country and group composition
To gain insights from particular groups of interest,
seven different profiles were prioritized, keeping in
mind specific vulnerable groups from the region,
to ensure that their diverse experiences and needs
were considered. Considering the limitations of the
online survey, FGDs were conducted to overcome the
digital exclusion faced by youth living in remote areas
and/or from low-income backgrounds. Findings from
these groups confirmed, clarified and/or elaborated on
topics explored in the survey, providing critical insights
into how and why observed trends are taking place.
The country-wise number of FGDs conducted with a
particular group was decided based on the priority youth
issues in a given country. The research team made sure
that an FGD with a certain group profile was conducted
at least twice in different countries. In this way, a variety
of perspectives were gathered from groups with the
same profile composition, but in different countries in
the region.
Using stratified sampling, FGD participants
were selected from populations within youth
organizations, training centres or education
institutions that have established connections
with UNICEF country offices,Viamo, or EY. A
random sample from within those organizations was
used. Specific vulnerable groups – youth in vulnerable
employment (engaged in low paying jobs, in the informal
economy and/or hazardous job) – were selected by
UNICEF country offices according to local specificities.
Additional care was taken to protect the confidentiality
and ensure the safety of those groups, as set out in the
VoY FGD protocol. No incidents were reported during
the FGDs. Consent forms were signed by all youth who
took part in the discussions.
27 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
The research themes in the survey were further
explored through the focus groups. Alignment of the
five themes was sought in order to contextualize and
triangulate the findings derived from the surveys.
The overall themes discussed in the FGDs were the
same across all groups, however, the semi-structured
questions asked were adapted based on the particular
group profile.
In addition, an open-ended question was asked as a part of the VoY survey questionnaire disseminated
through social media. The objective of the question was to understand in a more detailed and nuanced way the
kind of support that youth expect from the government, employers and their support networks. It also aimed at
understanding what young people expect of themselves in relation to their aspirations. The following question was
asked:
FGD with alumni ofTVET institutions in Karachi, Sindh Pakistan
©VIAMO/2019
FGD in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, with female youth from rural areas
©VIAMO/2019
RESEARCH
THEMES
THEMATIC AREAS OF FGD QUESTIONS
Aspirations Aspirations and future plans Future priorities and needs to achieve aspirations
Perceptions Barriers and challenges Barriers to skills acquisition and employment
Motivations and influences for work/skills acquisition
Experiences Transitioning from school to work Work experience
Work options and/or mobility
Preferences Looking for work Preferences in relation to migration, information and networks
Developing skills Preferences in relation to skills training
TABLE 7
Research themes for FGDs
To achieve your job goals, what would you ask the following groups of people?
•	 Your support network (friends, family, community)
•	 Employers
•	 Government
•	 Yourself
Please tell us about your ideas and demands for young people.
28 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
DATA ANALYSIS10
Mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative data
collection – the VoY survey and focus groups – were
used to understand the underlying motivations and
opinions of South Asian youth. Data from surveys
were analysed using Microsoft Excel. The FGDs and
open-ended questions were translated into English for
qualitative data analysis using proprietary EY tools.
Quantitative statistical analysis consisted of
descriptive statistics, using univariate (single
variable) data analysis and cross-tabulations with
the collected data. Socio-demographic parameters,
including country, gender, age group, area of residence
(urban/rural), socio-professional status and educational
attainment of the respondents, among other factors,
were examined to identify deviations, trends and
connections in the data. Weighted ratios were applied
in cross-tabulations by gender, rural/urban area, and
South Asia average. For the remaining cross-tabulations,
analysis was conducted on actual sample values and not
on weighted values. The results are also represented in
graphs and charts.
LIMITATIONS OFTHE STUDY
While the research team feels that the methodology
employed is sufficiently robust for the purposes of
this study, it is not free of limitations. Despite the
careful balance between quantitative and qualitative
methods, key limitations to consider include: undercoverage,
selection bias and inconsistencies during
qualitative data collection.
Under-coverage means that the sample selection
mechanism of the survey is not able to select some
elements of the target population (Bethlehem, 2010).
As data was collected by means of social media, only
respondents with Internet access were able to complete
the questionnaire. Also, online surveys tend to skew
data towards older, urban and better-off youth. Research
shows that people with Internet access differ, in general,
from those without Internet access. To address these
obstacles, measures were taken to ensure that the
group composition for the FGDs included the most
marginalized. In addition, efforts were made to extend
the survey to those who lacked access, providing them
with devices to participate. However overall, during data
collection, there was limited control over access or the
demographic and other personal characteristics of the
survey respondents.
Selection bias means that it is left to individuals
to select themselves for the survey. In web surveys,
the questionnaire was disseminated to those aged
15–24 in the eight countries studied using Facebook
ads. Respondents are, therefore, those individuals
who have Internet access, visit Facebook and decide
to participate in the survey. Thus, self-selection implies
that the principles of probability sampling are not
followed (Bethlehem, 2010) and estimates of population
characteristics are biased towards a self-selecting
group who have greater access and resources relative
to other groups. In order to reduce this bias, the study
applied adjusted weighting as a correction technique,
but only for country, gender and rural/urban area. Due to
time limitations, more sophisticated model-based and
sample-matching methods such as propensity models
were not applied.
Inconsistencies during qualitative data collection
– due to uneven implementation of the FGD
VoY Protocol and varying levels of facilitation
capacity among those who collected the data –
led to limitations on data quality. The FGDs were
conducted across eight countries by staff from different
organizations. Hence, it was not always possible to
ensure that the FGD protocol was applied faithfully as
per the instructions. Variations in the data recording
process did not enable the full richness of the qualitative
data to be captured.
10
EY conducted data processing (checking, inputting and cleaning) and data analysis for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal
and Sri Lanka, while Viamo conducted the same for Pakistan data (given in a separate report). Data integration for all eight countries for this report
was conducted jointly by both organizations.
29 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
PROFILE OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS
The sociodemographic profile of the survey
respondents is of great importance in
understanding the data. The following chart sets
out the demographic characteristics of the youth
survey sample before application of the weighting
adjustments for country, gender, and settlement type
(rural/urban).
Most of the survey respondents fell within the
21–24 age group (57.2%). In contrast, only 6.6%
(2,164) of respondents fell into the 15–17 age bracket.
This could be due to different preferences in the use
of social media channels and/or limited access to the
Internet among the younger group.
Similarly, almost half of respondents had
completed post-secondary education (49.1%), and
a third had completed secondary schooling (33.9%).
Those with no formal education (1,424 respondents)
constituted a small minority (4.3%).
Interestingly, when looking at the level of
education of the respondents’ parents, 65% had
some form of education while 34% had no formal
education. This could reflect some level of upward
social mobility on the part of youth respondents and a
generational difference that reflects improvements in
access to education in South Asia.
FINDINGS AND
DISCUSSION
CHAPTER 4
Imbarasa from Sri Lanka had dropped out
of school, but is now resuming his studies.
©UNICEF Sri Lanka/2019/Hari
29 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
30 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
CATEGORY NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS (%)
Country
Afghanistan 5,151 15.6
Bangladesh 9,725 29.5
Bhutan 737 2.2
India 8,100 24.6
Sri Lanka 2,084 6.3
Maldives 280 0.9
Nepal 4,525 13.7
Pakistan 2,326 7.1
Age range
15–17 2,164 6.6
18–20 11,946 36.3
21–24 18,817 57.2
Invalid response 1 -
Gender
Male 16,912 51.4
Female 15,905 48.3
Other 85 0.3
Invalid response 26 0.1
Settlement type
Rural 15,846 48.1
Urban 17,045 51.8
Invalid response 37 0.1
Education
No formal education 1,424 4.3
Completed primary 3,903 11.9
Completed secondary 11,146 33.9
Completed post-secondary 16,168 49.1
Invalid response 287 0.9
Parents’ level of education11
No formal education12
11201 34.0
Completed primary 7263 22.1
Completed secondary 7321 22.2
Completed post-secondary13
6899 21.0
Invalid response 244 0.7
TABLE 8
Socio-demographic profile of VoY survey respondents
11
The questioned asked was: ‘What is your parents’/carer’s level of education? Please indicate only the highest level of education achieved by either
parent’.
12
No formal education includes those who have chosen answer option: ‘Never attended’ or ‘Some primary schooling, but not finished’.
13
In the survey, it was clarified that post-secondary education could include either vocational, technical or university studies.
31 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
When looking at the current socio-professional
status14
of youth in South Asia, most of them
(44%) responded that they were studying at the
time of the survey. This was consistent across all
youth age groups, naturally, with higher proportions
among those aged 15–17 and 18–20 years. Among
those who were mainly studying, a higher proportion
of them were residing in urban areas. In contrast, the
South Asia weighted average shows that a smaller
proportion (5%) responded that they were in training
or doing an apprenticeship. However, this figure varied
within the region. For instance, in Afghanistan, 17% of
respondents stated that they were doing training or an
apprenticeship.
Those who were currently unemployed (29%)
constituted the second highest number of
respondents, in South Asia and among those aged
18–20 and 21–24 years. In terms of locality, a higher
proportion of unemployed respondents lived in rural
areas compared to urban areas.This finding seems
to be consistent with the overall high rates of youth
unemployment in South Asia.15
The majority of youth who were working,
belonged to the 21–24 age bracket and were male.
In comparison, a lower proportion of female youth,
in both rural and urban localities, were working.
Overall, considering the South Asia average, 10%
of respondents were working while 5% were selfemployed
or running their own business. However, this
finding was not consistent across the region; in the
Maldives, 33% of respondents stated that they were
employed.
Female youth living in rural areas seemed to be
the most disadvantaged, they were less likely
to be studying or working and more likely to be
unemployed. They were also the highest proportion of
respondents among those who defined themselves as
housewives.This finding seems to be consistent with
official data, the labour and education gender gap is
more pronounced in regions such as South Asia, where
social and cultural norms prevent women from pursuing
education or working outside the house (ILO, 2020).
FIGURE 2
What are you currently doing?
(South Asia weighted average, % of respondents) (n=32,928)
4%
4%
5%
5%
10%
29%
44%
Other
Housewife/Househusband
On ATraineeship/Apprenticeship
Self Employed/Running A Business
Working
Unemployed
Studying
50%40%30%20%10%0%
14
The question asked that respondents select only one option, therefore, it did not account for those who are currently doing multiple socioprofessional
activities, for instance, young people who are studying while working.
15
At 6.4, Southern Asia had the highest ratio of youth-to-adult unemployment rate in 2019, followed by South-Eastern Asia and the Pacific at 6.2 and
the Arab States at 4.0 (ILO, 2020).
FEMALE YOUTH LIVING IN RURAL AREAS SEEMED TO BE
THE MOST DISADVANTAGED, THEY WERE LESS LIKELY TO
BE STUDYING OR WORKING AND MORE LIKELY TO BE
UNEMPLOYED.
32 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
ASPIRATIONS AND FUTURE PLANS:WHAT AREYOUNG PEOPLE’S
ASPIRATIONS FORTHE FUTURE AND WHAT SUPPORT DOTHEY
NEEDTO ACHIEVETHEM?
Overall, South Asian youth are goal-oriented and have strong aspirations, either for education, skills
development, employment or entrepreneurship. South Asians are motivated and have goals in life, but the
opportunities available to them at different stages of their education and workforce trajectory are limited and,
thus, they believe that there are many barriers to overcome. These challenges have an impact on the confidence
of youth, who feel that the odds are stacked against them.
“I am the builder of my own future. I will always
strive for excellence and make myself skilled in
every aspect of life, so that I don’t have to limit
my opportunities and future.”
Female, 19, Bhutan
“You should study hard and become well
educated, but being educated is not enough,
you should be honest too. Alongside studying,
you should enrol in computer lessons and
other skill training programmes.”
Male, 24, Bangladesh
“There’s nothing more I want to tell myself
rather than to hang in there and study as much
as I can and try to work towards my job goals
starting now.”
Female, 19, Maldives
“I want my family to keep supporting me in my
studies and my career. I request employers
to help me find proper opportunities for
employment. I request the government to
be focused on economic and sustainable
development. I urge myself to be motivated
towards my aim.”
Female, 17, Nepal
Youth are pragmatic and seek a solid place in the job market
© UNICEF Nepal/2019/SJThapa
33 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FIGURE 3
What do you see yourself doing in the next two years?
(South Asia weighted average, % of responses) (n of responses16
=50,526)
Wage Employment
Study
Entrepreneurship
Upskill
Follow passion
Others (No plan or getting married) 7%
49%
15%
11%
9%
9%
FIGURE 4
Respondents who selected option ‘following my passion’ when asked what they see themselves doing in
the next 2 years (% of responses, disaggregated by level of education) (n of responses=4,793)
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Completed post
secondary
Completed secondary Completed primary No formal education
5.80%
6.79%
9.44%
10.20%
South Asian youth show commendable maturity and were found to be pragmatic in their desire to become
established as independent adults. Most of them (49%) had a strong inclination towards wage employment,
either by preferring to stay in the same job, find a better job, or move for work. In contrast, only 9% of youth
wanted to follow their passion. Similarly, a small proportion of youth (15%) aspired to pursue higher education over
joining the job market. Therefore, youth seem keen to seek a solid place in the job market and become financially
independent.
16
For multiple choice questions, the number of responses was counted instead of the number of respondents.
Youth who completed post-secondary education showed a greater inclination towards following their
passion (10%), compared to youth with no formal education (6%). This could imply that youth with higher levels
of education are better prepared and equipped to choose career paths on their own terms. When looking at agerelated
factors, the aspiration to follow one’s passion was found to decrease as youth reached adulthood – from
12% at 15–17 years to 9% after 18 years – again showing that as youth mature they become more pragmatic and/or
are burdened with responsibilities that lead them to shift their focus to having a secure income.
34 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Fatema is a differently abled adolescent who dropped out of school
and works at a beauty parlour in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.
©UNICEF Bangladesh/2019/Sujan
I dream of going back to school, but I
know now the time is not right. I want
to have my own beauty parlour after
I finish my training. But I know that I
need a lot of money to pursue this and
will need to save for many years. I want
to open a shop in one of the main cities
like Cox’s Bazar or Chittagong because
there would be more community halls
and business.
Fatema, 17, Bangladesh
The inclination towards education decreases as
the age group increases, reflecting a greater desire
for financial independence and a stable income.
As shown in the graph below, those aged 15–17 years
focus on pursuing education, apprenticeships and skills
development, while youths aged 18–24 years aspire
to wage employment. The aspiration for education and
skill development decreased after 17 years of age, from
41% to 31%, and further reduced to 23% after 21 years.
This trend suggests that as youth complete secondary,
tertiary, or technical and vocational education, they
are less inclined to pursue further education or skill
enhancement. Instead, they expect to enter the
workforce and earn income.
For most youth, education is a means to an end – after concluding their
education, most of them aspire to join the workforce.
35 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FIGURE 5
What do you see yourself doing in the next two years?
(% of responses, disaggregated by age bracket) (n of responses=43,752)
Wage employment
Entrepreneurship
Work at home/ get married
Education, skill development
and apprenticeship
Migration
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
15-17 years 18-20 years 21-24 years
“For myself, I should specify a clear goal. I
should have a strong and great willingness. I
should have self-confidence and do not let
stress and pressure overcome me. I should
try hard to reach my goals and get rid of
discrimination.”
Male, 21, Afghanistan
“Currently, I am studying and do not have any
skills, but I have the capability to work and so
would like to ask myself whether I have the
confidence.”
Female, 20, Nepal
“I want accurate information from the network
around me. Employers should verify the
qualifications of the candidate, not look only
at the amount of the bribe. To the government,
I want a platform to demonstrate my
qualifications and talents. To myself, I want to
have confidence and patience.”
Male, 18, Bangladesh
“To myself I say, first get good skills, some as a
specialist. Be confident and believe in yourself
about who and what you are, then go ahead as
every atom of the universe will help you.”
Female, 20, India
Despite having a clear vision of what they hope to achieve, South
Asian youth do not seem to be confident about achieving their goals.
36 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
There is a broad crisis among youth in their
confidence about achieving future goals. Overall,
across South Asia, only 61% of respondents said that
they are confident about achieving their goals. This
does not seem to be a high proportion, considering that
youth is generally a time of optimism. It might indicate
that youth perceive or experience barriers in education,
skills development and employment that hold them
back, resulting in feeling that their aspirations cannot be
achieved.
Overall, male youth were found be substantially
more confident (∆617
percentage points) in achieving
their goals than female youth, especially in the
Maldives (∆19 percentage points), Afghanistan (∆14
percentage points) and Bhutan (∆11 percentage
points). Surprisingly, in India, girls were found to be
more confident (∆5 percentage points). When examining
the data by locality, urban youth were found to be
more confident (∆4 percentage points), particularly in
Afghanistan (∆7 percentage points) and Bhutan (∆11
percentage points). In contrast, in Pakistan, rural youth
were more confident about achieving their goals (∆7
percentage points).
Confidence increased with education level, from
49% for respondents with no formal education to
70% for respondents with post-secondary education.
This could imply that better economic means and the
qualifications achieved when graduating from higher
education instil a higher level of self-confidence in youth,
compared to those who do not have the means to do so.
This seems to be in line with the earlier finding that youth
who have completed post-secondary education showed
a greater inclination towards following their passion (10%)
than youth with no formal education (6%).
FIGURE 6
How confident are you that you will be able to achieve your future job goals in two years?
(% of respondents, disaggregated by country, gender and rural/urban area) (n=32,644)
Urban youth vs Rural youth Males vs Females
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
-10%
Afganistan Srin LankaBhutan NepalBangladesh MaldivesIndia Pakistan Total
Male Urban
Female Rural
∆X refers to the difference in percentage points between certain percent values.
THERE IS A BROAD CRISIS AMONG YOUTH IN THEIR
CONFIDENCE ABOUT ACHIEVING FUTURE GOALS.
37 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
About 11% of youth aspire to start their own business, but, among the survey respondents, only 5% are
presently entrepreneurs. This could indicate that more South Asian youth prioritize ¬finding stable employment
than undertaking entrepreneurial ventures, which often entail risk-taking, seed money and no immediate financial
returns. Interestingly, a higher proportion of Afghans (18%) were engaged in self-employment. This may be a
reflection of the limited employment opportunities in the country – in fact, about 37% of Afghan respondents stated
that jobs were not available – possibly resulting in greater reliance on self-employment.
FIGURE 7
Respondents who selected option ‘start my own business’ when asked what they see themselves doing in
the next 2 years (% of responses by country) (n of responses=5,122)
0% 14%6% 10%2% 12%4% 8%
7%
9%
9%
13%
10%
10%
9%
8%
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Sri Lanka
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
“The government should open up a way for
entrepreneurs to start up their business and
run it successfully. Like most countries, it
should help them build a strong base in their
own businesses, through things like tax free
years for start-ups, low interest rate loans, and
help to find employers.”
Female, 24, Sri Lanka
“Many youngsters aspire to become
entrepreneurs because they face
discrimination during the recruitment process.
This leads them to think entrepreneurship is a
better alternative… the government must stop
nepotism and bribery during recruitment.”
Male, 19, Bangladesh
“An investment-friendly environment is
needed for women like us. The government
can provide collateral-free loans to women.
As capital is necessary to run an enterprise,
the government must provide investment
opportunities and an investment-friendly
environment.”
Female, 23, Nepal
“I ask the Maldives government to give us
youth a chance to start our own business, to
help us financially to start a small business.
Not a loan, but a small help will do. A lot of us
youth are stuck with great business ideas.”
Male, 24, Maldives
Few South Asian youth are entrepreneurs, and would-be entrepreneurs
face many obstacles.
38 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Those who are engaged in entrepreneurship, or
aspire to do so, face various obstacles regarding
finances, resources, availability of required skills
and getting the right guidance. According to the
FGDs, a common obstacle in India was the lack of
information from government about financial support.
Aspiring entrepreneurs from Nepal cited that major
difficulties included cumbersome processes for
business registration and business loans, as well as
lack of entrepreneurship training at schools. According
to survey findings, many young people expect
governments to create an enabling environment for
entrepreneurs.
Among those who already have their own business,
the trend towards entrepreneurial pursuits could
be partially explained by youth’s disillusionment
with the current status of the job market. Most
respondents who are entrepreneurs cited employers
hiring within their networks, the high cost of obtaining
work, and lack of jobs, as their top barriers to
employment. Consequently, we observed that barriers
are also driving youth to pursue entrepreneurship in
order to bypass the inequity experienced in skilled
labour markets
Sumera is a young female entrepreneur from Pakistan.
©UNICEF Pakistan/2019
“I learned to make embroideries from
a woman on our street. I learned fast
and started stitching clothes for other
women in our neighbourhood. Now, I
receive orders from shops. I use the
money I earn to pay the school fees for
my youngest brother and sister, who are
both enrolled in a private primary school.”
Sumera, 17, Pakistan.
39 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FGDs with female and male youth from Punjab, Pakistan pursuing tech-based entrepreneurial
ventures
Most participants said that their entrepreneurial
pursuits were borne out of frustration with
employment prospects. In Pakistan, most of them
had been either underemployed or had not received
recognition for their work. Some participants talked about
the disadvantages in routine jobs and shared examples of
expending time and effort in the wrong direction. They had
felt stuck in ‘mundane’ jobs and wanted to be able to think
out of the box. Therefore, most of the participants chose
to start their own business, rather than be employees
in different fields. They considered themselves creative
enough and preferred freedom and autonomy over working
for someone else.
Participants unanimously expressed disappointment
with the lack of support from their families. They
indicated that what they initially considered their support
system essentially became the biggest barriers to pursing
their dreams. Reasons for lack of support from families
included instability in the economy and the negative
perception of the business environment in Pakistan.
Some participants had to switch back to conventional
employment due to family and economic pressure, but
eventually were able to return to focusing on their start-
ups.
FGD participants also felt that the start-up
ecosystem in Pakistan needs to be more conducive
to new entrants. They admitted that they had received
tremendous informal support from other entrepreneurs in
the start-up community, but they also felt that more formal
channels of support were needed.
Most participants supplemented their income with
freelance work, which demonstrated a high level of
motivation and commitment to their work. According
to them, one of the most important things required to start
a business is self-belief, optimism and positive energy,
and their attitudes and personal accounts matched these
attributes.
© UNICEF/2019/Webster
40 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES:WHAT DOYOUTH PERCEIVETO BE
THE KEY BARRIERSTO EMPLOYMENT?
South Asian youth are goal-oriented and have a strong commitment to achieving their future goals, but they
believe that there are many barriers that they need to overcome. Survey results show that South Asian youth
face multiple barriers in education, skills development and employment. The top three internal and external barriers18
to skills development and employment, as perceived by respondents, are highlighted in Tables 9 and 10. Overall,
47% of youth said that the top external barriers to finding employment are the demand for bribes by employers,
discrimination, and a preference to hire within the employer’s own network.
18
For the purposes of the study, internal barriers (Table 10) to skills development and employment are those factors relating to youths’ personal
backgrounds, such as education level, qualifications and acquired skills, confidence level, family environment, and personal networks. External barriers
(Table 9) are those factors within the labor market, such as availability of desired jobs, employers’ demands and work environment.
“Employers should choose the most
appropriate candidate for the job based on their
qualifications and work ethic, instead of giving
jobs to people within their network.”
Female, 17, Maldives
“First I must question the government
about whether one should have a political
background to obtain a job in this country. This
is my recent experience. It is sad.”
Female, 24, Sri Lanka
“I request employers to hire employees based
on their qualifications, not on relations or
bribery.”
Female, 24, Afghanistan
“The government has to ensure strict
monitoring to prevent employers from recruiting
candidates through irregularities (bribery or
other benefits). Especially when it comes to
government jobs, discrimination, bribery and
political interference are rampant. As a result,
candidates are not getting jobs on merit.They
are deprived of respect in the country and that
is why they are migrating to other countries.
They are settling down there as those countries
know how to value merit. Every sector of our
country is riddled with political interference.This
evil practice has to stop.”
Male, 22, Bangladesh
“Discrimination on the basis of caste and colour
must be eliminated. The employers should be
honest. Talent is also available in the poorer
section of society.”
Male, 21, India
Youth believe that the strongest external barrier, by far, is hiring practices
that are discriminatory and unfair.
41 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Limited availability of jobs (28%) was the top
external barrier to employment among South Asians,
especially for youth with no formal education. For
38% of youth with no formal education, jobs not being
available was a major challenge, whereas this perception
reduced as the level of education increased. For youth
who had completed post-secondary education, lack of
jobs was a barrier for only 17%. Limited jobs seemed
to be a prevalent issue in Afghanistan, with 37% of
respondents stating that there were no jobs available
– the highest among all South Asian countries, and
even higher for Afghan youth living in rural areas (∆10
percentage points). Unemployment was a recurring
theme in all FGDs with Afghan youth: “Due to very high
unemployment, the working hours are a lot and the pay
is less. I do not voice my opinion about the working
conditions because I fear losing my job”.
The perception of nepotism and bribery in hiring
practices was more prevalent (48%) among
those with post-secondary education looking for
‘white collar’ jobs. The proportion of youth citing
this particular barrier dropped (28%) as the level of
education decreased. This shows that there are several
complexities to consider when studying the diversity of
young people’s experiences in recruitment processes
and perceptions of the job market. Further research is
required to delve into the potential reasons.
SA Avg AF BD BT IN LK MV NP PK
No jobs available 28%
Employers hire within their
network
23%
High cost to get to work 16%
Employers demand bribe 15%
Discrimination 9%
Others 9%
TABLE 9
Top external barriers to employment
(% of responses, by country and South Asia average) (n of responses=44,873)
There is a strong concern among South Asian youth about negative employer behaviours, including hiring
processes that are unfair, discriminatory and susceptible to bribery. Among the top three external barriers to
employment, 23% of young people raised the issue of ‘employers only hiring within their own network’ and 15%
cited concerns about ‘employers demanding bribes’. The latter challenge was especially profound in Bangladesh,
where employers demanding bribes (28%) was cited as the number one external barrier, followed by employers
only hiring within their own network (25%). Bribery was also a key concern among youth in Afghanistan (17%) and
Nepal (14%). Nepotism (hiring within employers’ own network) was a major challenge in all countries, and for the
Maldives (34%) and Nepal (43%) was the number one barrier.
Lack of jobs was the main barrier for youth with low education levels from
rural areas, whereas unfair hiring practices was the main obstacle for those
with education.
42 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FGDs with female and male youth with disabilities from Barisal, Bangladesh attending
welfare social centres
Most participants were from
disadvantaged backgrounds,
had dropped out of school and
were not in regular employment.
Many of them had experienced
discrimination and bullying growing
up, especially in public settings and
at school: “I have been made fun
of at school, other students laugh
at me”; “People in our community
make fun of us and outsiders don’t
treat us with respect”. Thus, they
tended to spend time with each
other: “I visit the welfare society
and spend time with other PwD
[persons with disabilities] friends.
We have a close group of friends as
not everyone in society likes to talk
to us”.
Youth in Bangladesh highlighted
difficulties when commuting; as
local transport and infrastructure
are not PwD friendly. One
participant said: “I prefer spending
time with my family, as I face
difficulties commuting from one
place to another. When travelling
by public transport, we face lots of
problems and some people even
make fun of us”. Their movements
are, therefore, restricted, especially
young women, and sometimes these
are imposed by family members: “I
need my parents to drop me to the
centre”; “My family does not allow
me go outside alone and because of
that I sometimes feel demotivated
and frustrated”. This means that
female participants mostly stay at
home, supporting their families in
household chores.
Due to limited qualifications
and societal perceptions about
disability, youth are often not
able to find and secure stable
employment. Most participants
expressed an inclination towards
self-employment, becoming
financially independent and learning
new skills. Many of them browsed
the Internet and were using social
media as a tool for self-education.
However, in the public sphere,
they struggled to break away
from stereotypes and the general
perception that, employment
opportunities for PwDs are usually
considered charity. Many of them
agreed that this mentality needs
to change, from charity to actual
inclusive and equal opportunity.
Lack of continuous guidance and
low self-esteem leads them to
have a reclusive life and to drift
away from work/skills acquisition.
All youth participants reported having
aspirations for the future; however,
due to barriers faced growing up,
most of them lacked the confidence
and skills to realize them. Trainers
who worked at the social centre
(where the FGDs took place) felt
that parents lacked the ability to
nurture and raise a differently abled
child. They shut the doors to the
outer-world and their children end up
with limited exposure to life outside
their homes or without them. They
felt that more needs to be done to
improve parenting skills so that every
child can realize their self-worth.
FIGURE 8
Respondents who selected option ‘no jobs available’ or ‘employer demands bribes’ and/or ‘employer hires
only within his/her network’ when asked which two additional barriers are most difficult
(% of responses, disaggregated by level of education) (n of responses=29,078)
No jobs available
Employers demand bribes /
hire within their network
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
No Formal
Education
Completed Primary
Education
Completed
Secondary
Education
Completed
Post Secondary
Education
38%
28%
36%
27%
45%
48%
17%20%
Contacts are immensely important in opening doors to employment; youth
benefit massively when they have access to them and it is detrimental
when they do not.
43 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
The internal barriers ‘limited work experience’ (29%) and ‘lack of contacts and/or information’ (22%) were
consistently cited by youth as the top internal barriers in all countries. These are particularly a dilemma
for young people entering the job market for the first time, where prior work experience is often expected by
employees. As new entrants with limited experience and contacts, the odds are against them.
“When we apply for jobs at nearby resorts, they
reject us saying lack of experience. Even to get
some experience we need a job. But how can
we get experience when we can’t get a job in
first place.”
Female, 18, Maldives
“New candidates must be given opportunities.
Experience is needed everywhere. Those with
no work experience are often neglected during
recruitment.”
Male, 24, Bangladesh
“To employers, don’t play dirty. If the result is
predetermined, don’t waste the time of all
the other candidates, who most of the time
are better than the person who is selected.
Rejection can break a person.”
Female, 22, Bhutan
“Companies do not like to recruit people
without prior experience even when they have
a degree or training. When they recruit youth
as trainees, they are provided with very low
salaries and benefits. Youth who have just
completed their education do not have work
experience. When companies request 4 to 5
years of experience it creates a problem.”
Female, 23, Sri Lanka
“I would ask my support network to provide me
with information about the availability of jobs,
inside as well as outside the country.”
Male, 19, Nepal
SA AVG AF BD BT IN LK MV NP PK
Lack of work experience 29%
Lack of contacts/ information 22%
Family Pressure 12%
Lack of confidence 12%
Lack of educational qualification 11%
Not having the right skills 5%
Others 9%
TABLE 10
Top internal barriers to employment (% of responses, by country and South Asia average)
(n of responses=53,559)
44 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
While successful youth will perceive having contacts
as a good thing, those who are unsuccessful will
find it unfair when employers hire from within
their network. Respondents indicated lack of access
to contacts and limited information as a major
barrier to employment. This may suggest that having
personal contacts and information are key for securing
opportunities along a career trajectory. Among the ways
that youth find jobs and methods identified as most
useful, using personal contacts and networks was the
second most common method through which youth find
jobs (28%) and it was also considered the most useful
method (34%). Contacts are, therefore, immensely
important in opening doors to employment, benefiting
youth massively when they have access to them, but
when they do not, they perceive it as favouritism and
unfair. This finding also reinforces the above-mentioned
grievances by youth related to lack of transparency and
nepotism in hiring processes.
When considering level of education, an inverse
relationship is found between ‘lack of education
qualifications’ and ‘lack of contacts/ information’.
Lack of education qualifications is naturally a bigger
barrier to employment for those with less education,
especially for those with no formal education. Personal
contacts and information seem to be an important
factor in securing opportunities across education levels.
However, for youth with higher levels of education –
and possibly pursuing career mobility in ‘white collar’
jobs – not having contacts or information was a priority
concern. The latter seems to be linked to the earlier
mentioned grievance of nepotism and bribery in hiring
practices, which was found to more often cited as a
barrier by those with post-secondary education.
FIGURE 9
Respondents who cited ‘lack of education qualifications’ and ‘lack of contacts/information’ when
asked about biggest barriers to employment (% of responses, disaggregated by level of education) (n of
responses=16,961)
0% 25%10% 20%5% 15%
23%
19%
11%
5%
14%
17%
22%
25%
Lack of educational
qualification
Lack of contacts/
information
No Formal Education
Completed Secondary
Education
Completed Post Secondary
Education
Completed Primary
Education
WHILE SUCCESSFUL YOUTH WILL PERCEIVE HAVING
CONTACTS AS A GOOD THING, THOSE WHO ARE
UNSUCCESSFUL WILL FIND IT UNFAIR WHEN EMPLOYERS
HIRE FROM WITHIN THEIR NETWORK.
45 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Young women in South Asia cite additional and
more deep-rooted barriers to overcome when
accessing work. More women in Nepal felt that
nepotism in hiring practices impacted on them (by ∆10
percentage points) than their male counterparts. The
trend was consistent across all countries (∆3 percentage
points on average), except Afghanistan, where the
barrier was a greater concern for men.
Similarly, when looking at discrimination as a
barrier to employment, more women considered
it a hindrance than men. In all countries except
Afghanistan, more women felt that discrimination
affected them than men (∆3 percentage points).
Especially, women from Pakistan (∆7 percentage points),
Bhutan (∆5 percentage points), the Maldives and India
(both ∆4 percentage points) stated that discrimination
was a bigger challenge for them compared to their
male counterparts. This could be a factor severely
impacting on whether they continue to stay active
in the workforce. Young women living in urban areas
of Pakistan and Afghanistan expressed in FGDs that
sexual harassment is an important deterrent. Many
shared personal anecdotes of having been harassed by
employers and educators, and when in public spaces in
general.
“My husband should allow me to do a job”.
Female, 23, Sri Lanka
“The majority of young women in our country
are married after completing their studies and
become housewives and face barriers when
they want to work outside the house, so all
their talent and energy is wasted.”
Male, 23, Afghanistan
“Am I to get married early only because I am
a girl? Can I not complete my studies? Can I
not be self-employed? I should also have the
opportunity to demonstrate my capabilities.”
Female, 20, Nepal
“The main issue for women is having to get
permission from home to be able to work.”
Female, 15–24, Pakistan
“As a woman, I think that everyone, starting
from the family, should come forward with the
necessary support and bring change in their
mentality to solve the problems women face
in the workplace/when they go to work.”
Female, 23, Bangladesh
“I want to say this to my family: please do not
consider girls as captive birds. Sometimes, let
us spread our wings in the sky. Sometimes, let
us live as we wish.”
Female, 24, India
MORE WOMEN IN NEPAL FELT THAT NEPOTISM IN HIRING
PRACTICES IMPACTED ON THEM (BY Δ10 PERCENTAGE
POINTS) THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS.
Young women face multiple obstacles and are more disadvantaged than
their male counterparts in accessing work.
46 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Limited physical mobility among young women,
adds to other prejudicial factors, such as male
preference by employers. Male youth (52%) were
more open to move for work compared to their female
counterparts (37%) in seven of the countries studied,
except for Afghanistan, where more women were open
to move for work (by 14 percentage points). Countries
like Pakistan (∆23 percentage points), Bangladesh (∆22
percentage points), the Maldives and Nepal (both ∆21
percentage points), showed the highest differences
in proportion between male and female migration.
Conversations in FDGs further highlighted mobility
restrictions as a major barrier faced by women in their
pursuit of education and employment. For instance,
female youth living in Peshawar, Pakistan, highlighted
the need for safe, affordable and secure modes of
transportation for women. When prompted what
freedom means to them, one of the women stated,
“freedom is to be able to go wherever I want, whenever
I want”.
FGDs with female youth living in rural areas of Sindhupalchok District, Nepal and Maafushi
Island, Maldives
Most FGD participants had dropped out of school and
were not in formal employment. In the Maldives, young
women were literate, but struggled to find employment
due to a lack of skilling and employment opportunities in
the remote islands where they lived. All participants from
Nepal were attending a training centre located in their
locality and learning sewing skills.
Many of them aspired to start their own business
or become self-employed. In both countries, young
women aspired to earn money baking, making handicrafts,
tailoring, and working in the tourism industry, but most of
them did not have the financial means to do so. Selfemployment
seemed to be a desirable option among rural
women. Some of them expressed the desire to take care
of their families while also having flexible and independent
work.
Young women feel restricted by cultural perceptions,
societal pressures and gendered expectations. The
majority felt deeply connected to their families and
needing their permission for most endeavours: “My family
has a strong influence on my decision-making”. Especially
for women who had married early, household chores and
family responsibilities were a high priority. In the Maldives,
where tourism is the largest sector providing employment,
female youths shared that they faced resistance from their
families: “My family and other people on the island don’t
see working in resorts as a respectable job”; “It is against
their religious sentiments to be working at a place that
serves alcohol”. These gendered factors often leave women
without opportunities for stable work.
WHEN PROMPTED WHAT FREEDOM MEANS TO THEM, ONE
OF THE WOMEN STATED, “FREEDOM IS TO BE ABLE TO GO
WHEREVER I WANT, WHENEVER I WANT”.
47 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Kesang from Bhutan dropped out of school but
has now taken up farming as her main job.
©UNICEF Bhutan/2019/Webster
“I wanted to be a doctor, but I left school
at 16. I realised that my parents wouldn’t
be able to afford my education. Instead, I
began to take agriculture and village life
very seriously. I have really embraced
farming. At the end of each day, I feel
happy in my choices, satisfied and
self-sufficient. Being self-sufficient is
important to me because I have to think
about the future.”
Kesang, 17, Bhutan.
47 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
48 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
TRANSITIONING FROM SCHOOLTO WORK:WHAT AREYOUNG
PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCES WHENTRANSITIONINGTO WORK?
The transition from school to work is a pivotal moment for young people, but today’s South Asian youth
feel unprepared to enter the workforce. Already early in their lives, pressure on young people to provide financial
support leads them to make difficult choices, such as dropping out of school. This leads to lower work prospects,
making them feel that they lack agency in determining their future. Among those who do pursue education, nearly a
quarter of youth respondents felt that the education system did/does not sufficiently prepare them for work. South
Asian youth want more and better support services to improve employability in transitioning from school to work.
“Job training should be provided immediately
after the university education is completed. It
is not fair to request job experience in the first
interview after graduating from a university.”
Female, 23, Sri Lanka
“There should be equal opportunity for all, more
awareness, skill-based programmes, aptitude
tests, and counselling so that one can easily
show her best.”
Female, 19, India
Male, 19, Bangladesh
“We need more opportunities and better career
counselling at schools and colleges. The
selection needs to be based on skills rather
than on grades.
Female, 18–20, Pakistan
“My expectation from the government is to
ensure career counselling at my education
institution.
Female, 20, Bangladesh
South Asian youth feel there are not enough support services available to
improve their employability and want more support in transitioning from
school to employment.
“It is necessary to connect each of the business institutions with schools, colleges and universities
so that students can learn new things through their visits to different businesses, and companies
and institutions will benefit in the future.”
49 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
When asked about career support received while
in education; nearly a quarter of youth (24%) had
not received any form of employability enhancing
services (meeting a career advisor, aptitude testing
etc.). ‘No support’ constituted the highest proportion
of responses in six South Asian countries, excluding
Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The support system was found to
be the strongest in Bhutan and Sri Lanka, where 89%
and 86% of respondents, respectively, had received
some form of employability support. Respondents from
Bangladesh (33%) and Afghanistan (28%) reported the
lowest number of youth receiving job support from
school/educational institutions.
Among those who had received support services
from school/education institutions, less than
half (45%) agreed that the support received had
improved their chances of getting a job. This seems
to indicate that even when advisory support exists, it
remains ineffective for the most part.
When those who were employed were asked
how they had found work, most of them reported
receiving very limited support from their schools to
find placement. Only 4% of respondents were placed
from school, while 43% found jobs through their own
efforts, and 45% through their network of friends and
family.
SA AVG
No support 24%
Meeting career advisor 14%
Information about training/jobs/internships 11%
Advice about setting up business 10%
Information about universities and colleges 10%
CV workshops or interview sessions 9%
Aptitude testing 8%
TABLE 11
While in education, were you offered any support?
(South Asia weighted average, % of responses)
(n=43,809)
Kusma is an adolescent pursuing secondary education in India. ©UNICEF India/2019/Hari
“Jobs actually depend on training and
qualifications. But our education institutions are
making students learn the same old syllabus by
rote.That’s why we do not have enough skills
when we finish our studies, a fact which makes
us suffer afterwards.To make matters worse,
many young people do not have adequate
communication skills.The quality of teaching is
poor, that too needs to be changed.”
Male, 23, Bangladesh
“Syllabuses of schools and universities should
be more focused on job markets. Most of the
time the knowledge and skills of graduates
don’t match the requirements of the job
market. Education systems are created to just
give knowledge, not skills, but the system
should be more concerned with giving skills
along with knowledge.”
Female, 23, Sri Lanka
South Asian youth believe that the education system does not sufficiently
prepare them for quality work opportunities.
“Government schools are very ineffective.They never hold practical classes and only give theoretical
classes so that we cannot make our career. We can understand the books, but we cannot practically
do what the book teaches us.”
Female, 19, Nepal
50 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
South Asian youth cited difficulties in transitioning
from education to work, immediately after
completing their education. Overall, 29% of South
Asian youth mentioned lack of work experience as their
top internal barrier to finding employment. This suggests
that young people feel that the bridge between
education and desired jobs is lacking, and that there is
a dearth of entry level opportunities for young persons
with little to no work experience.
Youth in four countries (Afghanistan, the Maldives,
Nepal, Sri Lanka), cited ‘lack of education
qualifications’ as one of the top three barriers to
future employment. In Bangladesh, in contrast, young
people felt that, despite having acquired education
qualifications, they lacked the right skill set for
employment (16%). This suggests that there are gaps
between the education system and the skillsets sought
by employers. In fact, analysis of open-ended question
responses showed that many youth perceive that the
current education system is outdated and requires
broad changes, including in teaching methods, to better
prepare students for the 21st century labour market.
Because of this, school to work transition is difficult
for youth in the region. The general education track
focuses more on credentials, rather than the skills
required in the workplace. The higher education systems
in most South Asian countries are largely structured
focusing on academic preparation, in many cases
screening out a minority of students for university, rather
than preparing all youth for either continued education
and training or direct entry into the labour force (Ra, Chin
& Liu, 2015).
“I have a dream, and no one should stop
me. I will not get married young. Instead,
I will study and become a great doctor.
(But) I need to know how I can become
a doctor. The school should provide us
with necessary skills and information.”
Kusma, 13, India.
Kusma is an adolescent pursuing secondary education in India.
© UNICEF India/2019/Hari
50 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
51 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Ali Bilal from Pakistan is a differently abled youth now resuming his studies.
©UNICEF Pakistan/2019/Zaidi
“If only I had the opportunity to study and did
not have to take care of my family at a young
age, I would have been able to do something.
The government needs to provide useful skill
training and education opportunities to those
interested in studies.”
Female, 21, Nepal
“In Bangladesh, the poor but talented students
work while they study to pay for their
education. This not only creates pressure on
their studies, but the pressure of maintaining
both studies and family is also created.”
Male, 21, Bangladesh
“A few years ago, I spent most of my
days selling corn on the cob and ending
my days outside of a local school. I
would always wonder what it was like
to go to school, to read and write. When
the teacher welcomed me and asked
me to join the following day, it was like
a dream come true - I could not believe
how lucky I was. I still remember the day
I learned to write my name - the best
day of my life. Every day from then on
has been life-changing.”
Ali Bilal, 16, Pakistan.
Pressure on youth to financially support their families leads them to
make difficult choices early in their lives, possibly leading to lower work
prospects.
“I had to drop my studies to find a job because my family conditions were really poor. Now I want to
achieve more, but I couldn’t find a way for that. Please support courses to help young people like us.”
Female, 24, Sri Lanka
52 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Lack of financial means and pressure to support
themselves and their families, force many youth to
join the workforce at an early age. When working
youth were asked at what age they had started working,
58% of respondents said between the age of 15–20
years. Out of these, 10% had started very young (before
the age of 18), and only 13% of youth had waited till
21 to join the workforce. Across South Asia, it was
observed that male youth are more likely to start work at
an early age.
Slightly over half of South Asian youth (53%)
indicated that they spend their earnings on their
parents and siblings, and an additional 18% stated
that their earnings went to support extended family.
When working youth were asked what they did with
the money they earnt, only 18% of youth used their
earnings mostly on themselves. This suggests that many
South Asian youth may enter the workforce to support
their families, subsequently affecting their choices
and motivations in relation to employment, as well as,
perceived and actual prospective careers.
FIGURE 10
What do you do with the money you earn? (South Asia
weighted average, % of respondents) (n=7,629)
Spend it mostly on my parents and siblings
Spend it mostly on myself
Spend it mostly on our extended family
other
Spend it mostly on my spouse and kids
53%
18%
18%
9%
3%
The majority of youth in South Asia have/had to
work alongside studying. Overall, 41% of youth
stated they had worked while studying, whereas 22%
of respondents had aimed to do so, but failed due to
unavailability of work. Among those surveyed, 24%
were studying full-time and had not worked or looked
for work. Women from Bhutan, the Maldives and
Bangladesh were morelikely to be studying full-time.
Some youth respondents (11%) reported not
completing their education and having to drop out
to pursue full-time work. This could imply that they
have missed out on education opportunities that could
have led to better jobs. Many youth, especially those
in vulnerable situations, corroborated this in the FGDs,
saying that they had to leave school in order to meet
living costs. The majority stated that they are unable to
complete their education due to financial issues, which
includes being unable to afford the high cost of tertiary
education and having to leave school in order to earn an
income to meet living expenses.
FIGURE 11
Have you ever had to work while studying?
(% of respondents, disaggregated by country and South Asia average) (n=23,161)
11%
23%
46%
4%
22% 22% 22%
25%
45% 45%
33%
36%
2%
13%
28%
15%
20%
9%
8%
42% 41% 41%
7%
10% 11%
AF BD BT IN LK MV NP PK SA
12% 9%
I tried to find work but none
were available
Yes
Yes, I dropped my studies
to work
53 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
“I am a person born in a family with very poor
economic condition. Due to poor economic
condition, I could not get an education. I think
of starting something, but I do not possess any
skill. On top of that I cannot get even a small
job when I am in need”
Female, 23, Nepal
“The main issue we face is the high school
fees to access higher education. Our parents
cannot afford them.”
Female, 15–24, Pakistan
“When we went back home after
living in the camp, we returned with
only our bare hands. My family faced
financial difficulties and I was not able
to attend school for six months. It was
a particularly bad time, but eventually
I made it into the classroom. I would
like to work at a bank in the future, and
I’ll achieve this by studying hard and
getting a job. It will provide me with a
good salary and allow me to support my
family.”
Inbarasa, 17, Sri Lanka.
Education is a crucial determinant in defining a young person’s long-term
employment trajectory.
Imbarasa from Sri Lanka had dropped out
of school, but is now resuming his studies.
©UNICEF Sri Lanka/2019/Hari
“The majority of our country’s youth live a hard live, some of them are addicted to drugs, some of
them live outside our country, some are illiterate and some have joined the opposition forces. A
very small minority of our youth are literate, but they don’t have a lot of job opportunities.”
Female, 23, Afghanistan
54 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
The survey showed that as the level of education
increases, the tendency to drop studying to work
decreases. The importance of education in preparing
youth for work is indisputable, and South Asian
youth are highly aware that education — especially
quality education — can lead to better employment
opportunities. With less education, youth tend to drop
their studies for work (31% of respondents with no
formal education, but only 5% with post-secondary
education), while the tendency to study full-time and
work while studying increases when pursuing education.
A similar trend was observed when looking at the
education of parents, indicating that the lower the
level of education of parents, the more likely it is that
youth will need to make sacrifices to contribute to the
household’s income.
FIGURE 12
Have you ever had to work while studying?
(% of respondents, who answered ‘worked while studying’ and ‘dropped studies to work’,
disaggregated by level of education) (n=16,645)
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
No formal education Completed primary Completed secondary Completed post
secondary
17%
9%
37%
31%
34%
48%
40%
5%
Survey results indicate that youth with no or
lower levels of education are more susceptible
to vulnerable employment. Youth with no formal
education were found to be 33% more susceptible
to being offered illegal and informal work. No formal
qualifications and lack of skills makes them vulnerable
to working in hazardous conditions, for long hours at
low pay and in risky conditions, as reported in the FGDs.
This indicates that supporting youth to stay in education
could increase their chances of obtaining better
employment. As described in the part on barriers, unfair
recruitment practices combined with limited labour
market opportunities are a further complication for youth
from rural areas and lower education backgrounds.
The VoY survey found that the least educated youth, when compared with youth who had
completed post-secondary education, are:
•	 1.4 times more likely to apply
for jobs abroad
	» 20% of youth with no
formal education
	» 14% of youth with postsecondary
education
•	 Half as likely to be able to
find work via the Internet and
newspapers
	» 13% of youth with no
formal education
	» 26% of youth with postsecondary
education
•	 1.5 times more likely to be
offered informal/illegal work
	» 12% of youth with no
formal education
	» 8% of youth with postsecondary
education
Dropped studies to work
Worked while studying
55 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
“I want my family and friends to have faith in
me and let me work outside my comfort zone.”
Female, 18–20, Pakistan
“My parents are fully behind me. I have come
so far because of them. Let me thank them
first. Nothing was possible without their help.”
Female, 21, India
“Instead of forcing children into the areas of
parents’ interest, family members need to
identify the interests of their children, along
with identifying their capabilities, and provide
them with education accordingly.”
Female, 24, Nepal
“To my support network, I just ask for
support through my journey to find what I’m
passionate about. I appreciate all the advice,
but sometimes I feel that they should just let
me go and take the leap of faith.”
Female, 22, Bhutan
When asked about various barriers and pathways to
getting a job, South Asian youth reveal that career
choices are strongly influenced by their family.
In the survey, 12% of South Asian youth identified
family pressure as one of the top internal barriers to
employment. Family pressure – which is believed to be
an important factor across South Asia – was found to
be highest in India (14%) and lowest in Bhutan (5%).
Youth cited lack of support for certain career choices and
pressure to choose conflicting paths, as key challenges
relating to family pressure.
The freedom and ability to make one’s own choices
(‘agency’) varies across groups; young women
reported not being allowed by family and society to
work outside their homes and/or pursue education.
In FGDs, female participants expressed feeling restricted
by cultural perceptions, societal pressures and gendered
expectations. This suggests that certain perceptions and
expectations restrict them from freely pursing education
and work opportunities. Some of them highlighted
feeling ‘always being told what to do’ and being
expected to obey when decisions are made. In this
regard, one woman added, “everyone has an opinion
about what I do or should do, especially people whose
opinions I don’t care about”.
IN THE SURVEY, 12% OF SOUTH ASIAN YOUTH IDENTIFIED
FAMILY PRESSURE AS ONE OF THE TOP INTERNAL BARRIERS
TO EMPLOYMENT.
Family is hugely important to youth and plays a major role in determining
their transition from school to work.
56 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Mais is a young photographer from Maldives pursuing his passion.
©UNICEF Bhutan/2019/Webster
“I borrowed my cousin’s camera when I
was 16. I started taking it to parties and
gatherings and realised I liked how it
worked. Then I got really into it. I didn’t
feel like we all needed to be doctors and
pilots. I felt like if you had a special thing
you were drawn toward you should take
the leap.”
Mais, 18, Maldives.
56 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
57 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
LOOKING FOR WORK: HOW DOYOUNG PEOPLE ACQUIRE
INFORMATION ABOUT JOBS AND HOW DOTHEY FEEL ABOUT
MIGRATION?
South Asian youth rely primarily on personal efforts (Internet searches, newspaper advertisements,
approaching employers) and networks (family and friends) to find jobs. Institutional mechanisms supporting
youth employment, such as government matching programmes, recruitment companies and job fairs, are considered
less helpful. Most youth reported migrating out of their hometowns to seek meaningful employment. Moving for
work to urban areas was more prevalent among youth from rural areas and was found to be more common among
men. For those considering options abroad, youth with lower levels of education were more likely to look for jobs
outside.
When asked about the steps undertaken to find
jobs, looking via the Internet, newspapers, reaching
out to employers (34%) and seeking help from
personal networks (28%) were found to be the
most common and effective methods. An alignment
was found between the steps undertaken by youth to
find jobs and the searching methods found to be most
useful. Interestingly, with higher levels of education, the
usefulness of media (the Internet and newspapers) and
employment agencies increased.
Government initiatives were found to be one of the
least popular among youth seeking jobs. Formal
mechanisms for job search, like employment agencies,
government programmes and job fairs were found
to be the least effective. Still, government-funded
programmes were rated as most successful by youth
in Nepal (11%), Afghanistan (10%) and Bhutan (9%),
compared to the South Asian average of 6%. These
countries may have lessons to share on the success of
these initiatives.
“Start government funded employment
agencies to help people find jobs that are a
good fit.”
Female, 23, Maldives
“The newspapers publish recruitment notices
of government and non-government jobs, but a
lot of money is needed to afford those jobs.”
Male, 21, Bangladesh
“Support network: I ask them to inform
me when they get to know about a job
advertisement because it might be unknown
to me. Employers: I will subscribe to some job
alert websites to get alerts regarding new job
opportunities. Government: I will have a look
at government gazettes and websites twice a
week to know about job opportunities.”
Male, 24, Sri Lanka
Looking for jobs via the Internet, newspapers, approaching employers and
seeking help from personal networks were found to be the most popular
and effective methods.
58 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
In all countries, young people who obtained
employment did so mainly through networks of
family and friends. These informal social networks
were used in more than 45% of cases. Tapping into
social networks is, therefore, clearly a dominant way
through which youth are matched and enter the labour
market in the region.
Young girls living in rural areas reported facing
limited access to technology when looking for
jobs and skilling opportunities. Most female FGD
participants from rural areas of Pakistan and Nepal did
not have regular access to technology or own a mobile
phone. They had a great inclination toward improving
their skills but, could not regularly attend training, either
due to lack of information, monetary resources, physical
mobility issues, and/or family disapproval due to security
concerns. This proved to be a major hindrance, creating a
gap between their ambitions and actual circumstances.
One Nepali participant shared: “Most of us do not have
mobile phones, only a few have, but simple phones. We
do not have access to social networking sites so, we
seldom learn about job and training opportunities”.
STEPS UNDERTAKENTO FIND JOBS % MOST USEFUL STEPSTO FIND WORK %
I look for jobs on the Internet, newspapers, or
approach employers
34 Newspapers
Internet (job websites and social media)
31
I ask family and friends 28 Personal networks – parents, family,
family friends
Friends and people I know who are working
Teachers/career advisors
47
I use private employment agencies 7 Private employment agencies 4
I registered with a government employment
agency
I am in a technical job training programme
6 Government-funded employment
programmes
6
I go to job fairs 6 Job fairs 4
I do volunteer work or community service 6 Youth/community worker 6
TABLE 12
What steps have you undertaken to find jobs? (n=52,734);
Which were most useful? (n of responses=58,511) (South Asia weighted average, % of responses)
MOST FEMALE FGD PARTICIPANTS FROM RURAL
AREAS OF PAKISTAN AND NEPAL DID NOT HAVE
REGULAR ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY OR OWN A
MOBILE PHONE.
59 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
When asked whether they had ever applied for a
job abroad, 15% of respondents said that they had
applied for jobs outside their home country. Youth
from Sri Lanka (21%), the Maldives (17%), Afghanistan
(16%) and Pakistan (16%) had more interest in going
abroad. Older youth showed more inclination to do
so; an average of 11% of youth aged 15–17 years, and
16% youth aged 21–24 years, had applied for a job
outside the country. In the survey, many South Asian
youth reported wanting to stay in their own country, but
struggling to find decent work.
Among those who had applied for jobs abroad,
the percentage was higher among youth with no
formal education (20%), in comparison to those
who had achieved higher levels of education (14%).
Furthermore, the highest proportion of international
migration for work was observed among the least
educated, at 11%, compared to 3% of those with
education. It can, therefore, be inferred that going
abroad for work is more prevalent in South Asia among
youth doing ‘blue collar’ jobs.
Among those who had gone abroad for work,
migration from the Maldives (9%), Bhutan (8%) and
Afghanistan (7%) was higher than the South Asian
average (3%). Notably, in all these countries migration
for overseas employment is highly prevalent.
FIGURE 13
Have you ever applied for a job outside your country? (% of respondents who
answered ‘yes’, disaggregated by level of education) (n=4,849)
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
No Formal
Education
Completed Primary
Education
Completed
Secondary
Completed
Post Secondary
Education
20.24%
18.42%
13.78%
14.52%
“We request the government to provide
employment opportunities so that youth can
work in their country instead of going abroad.”
Female, 24, Afghanistan
“The government must put a ban on the
practice of bribery during recruitment. This
practice is the main reason behind a brain-drain
leading to the migration of promising youths to
different countries.”
Male, 19, Bangladesh
“To the government: I would like to ask
the government to create employment
opportunities in the country itself for Nepalese
youths who are migrating to foreign countries.
The labour of our youth is being sold in foreign
countries. Let us use this labour for the
development of our country.”
Male, 22, Nepal
Youth with lower levels of education are more likely to look for
jobs abroad.
60 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
An important number of youth had moved within their country in search of job opportunities. Overall,
43% of total respondents had migrated out of their hometown for job opportunities. The highest movement was
observed in Sri Lanka (66%), while Bangladesh had the least number of youth moving out of their hometown (33%).
International migration seemed to be less prevalent than what might be perceived, but not because youth do not
want to work abroad. Many people had applied for jobs outside their home country (15%), but only 3% succeeded
in working abroad.
AF BD BT IN LK MV NP PK SA
5% 1% 5% 2% 4% 6% 4% 1% 2%
2% 1% 3% 1% 2% 3% 2% 2% 1%
56%34%51%49%69%54% 58% 62% 57%
60% 35% 35%36%46%44%30%39% 40%
No Yes, outside the South Asia
region
Yes, within the South Asia
region
Yes, within my country
FIGURE 14
Have you ever moved outside your hometown for work?
(% of respondents, disaggregated by country and South Asia average) (n=32,673)
“There are many opportunities in our city,
however, we don’t get jobs. People from big
cities like Karachi, Peshawar etc. are getting
them because they have a better education
than we do in rural areas.”
Male, 15–24, Pakistan
“I am preparing for examinations for the second
time, while searching for jobs on the Internet. I
am prepared to go abroad for a job. I would like
to obtain further advice form a job advisor.”
Female, 20, Bangladesh
“I would like to do something in Nepal
itself. Foreign migration will not solve the
problem. The youth of the country need to
come together and collect small amounts
of capital to establish share companies in
different sectors and create employment for
themselves and others.”
Female, 21, Nepal
Most youth across South Asia, especially men and those from rural areas,
migrate out of their hometown to look for meaningful employment.
61 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Moving for work, either abroad or within the country
was more widespread among youth living in rural
areas in all South Asian countries. In particular, rural
youth moved within the country for work more often (11
percentage points higher than urban youth), with Bhutan
(∆21 percentage points), Pakistan (∆19 percentage
points), Afghanistan (∆16 percentage points), and the
Maldives and Sri Lanka (both ∆11 percentage points)
showing the highest percentage point difference
between rural and urban areas. This indicates that
people from rural areas may be more likely to move
in search of better opportunities. Internal migration
from rural-to-urban areas is a common phenomenon
across South Asian countries. There are lower financial,
social and legal barriers to such migration and greater
possibilities to exploit contacts and stay in touch with
family.
Survey results show that more men claimed to
have moved for work than women (difference
of ∆12 percentage points). A gender deviation
was also observed in migration within the country
(difference of 9 percentage points). This phenomenon
was most prominent in Bangladesh (∆21 percentage
points), Pakistan (∆19 percentage points), Nepal (∆15
percentage points) and the Maldives (∆14 percentage
points). This can be broadly attributed to the higher
societal pressure on men to provide for their family,
pushing them to relocate to urban areas in search of
better opportunities. Gendered perceptions on safety
and security are also major factors that hinder the free
movement and relocation of women.
FIGURE 15
Have you ever moved outside your hometown for work?
(% of respondents, disaggregated by country, rural/urban area and South Asia average) (n=12,339)
Moved within country urban
youth
Moved within country rural
youth
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
AF BD BT IN LK MV NP PK Total
MOVING FOR WORK, EITHER ABROAD OR WITHIN THE
COUNTRY WAS MORE WIDESPREAD AMONG YOUTH LIVING
IN RURAL AREAS IN ALL SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES.
62 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Asem was a migrant worker in Iran.
He is now pursuing education while helping
his family in rural Afghanistan.
©UNICEF Afghanistan/2019/Setayesh
“I dropped out of school to work in
Iran. Then I was caught and deported
back to Afghanistan. When I returned, I
re-enrolled in school. My favorite subject
is mathematics. I think it will help me
in my future career. I am also learning
how to expand my father’s carpentry
business. My days are long, and I
come home exhausted. I cannot do my
homework, and often, this gets me in
trouble with my teacher.”
Asem, 14, Afghanistan
62 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
63 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FGDs with female and male youth from Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan who have
migrated for work
The majority of FGD participants
had migrated from rural areas to
capital cities and some of them
aspired to go abroad. Participants
came from different walks of life and
had varying levels of education, from
youth studying degrees to others
with 45 days mobile repair training
from the Council for Technical
Education and Vocational Training
(CTEVT).
FGDs with youth in Afghanistan
and Bangladesh revealed that
better job opportunities and
higher salaries were the key
motivators for migration from
rural to urban areas: “We are
getting multiple job options so prefer
to migrate from rural to urban areas.
There are no jobs in our villages
and, hence we are forced to move.”
In Afghanistan, unemployment
and insecurity were recurring
issues: “Because of insecurity and
economic problems, I came to Kabul
to find a good job”.
Youth from lower socio-economic
backgrounds, reported hardships
after moving abroad or to
cities and being susceptible to
precarious and informal work:
“We work six days a week and
are sometimes called to work on
holidays. We usually get half a day’s
leave, which is not sufficient, and
we demanded one day leave, but
with no luck so far.” Youth from Nepal
who had migrated abroad reported
taking loans at high interest rates
for overseas migration without any
job guarantee. In many cases, they
found it difficult to get meaningful
employment, so were forced to
work for long hours at minimal pay
to repay their loans. Some said that
they were unable to voice their
concerns for fear of being fired.
Youth from all backgrounds
were keen to continue learning,
upskilling and reskilling in order
to improve their future jobs
prospects: “We lack special training
and skills that would help us to get
a good job abroad. I wish that the
government or any organization
managed to give us job-oriented
training and skills.” When asked
about the top ways to get
information about jobs and training
opportunities, the majority stated
social media, the Internet and word
of mouth through friends.
DEVELOPING SKILLS:WHAT AREYOUNG PEOPLE’S PREFERENCES
IN SKILLSTRAINING?
There is overall acknowledgment by youth of the need to have both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills and to learn new
skills to adapt to the changing nature of work. Still, despite interest, vocational/technical courses were not found
to be aspirational for youth. South Asian youth value soft skills as much as hard skills, however, not enough youth are
receiving the necessary training. Overall, a quarter of respondents (25%) cited not having received any skills training,
especially young women.
© UNICEF Bangladesh/2019/Sujan
64 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Vocational/technical courses were not found to
be aspirational among youth. South Asian youth
see value in the practical and technical skills that TVET
courses offer, and over half of respondents (58%)
indicated that they would be interested in some form
of TVET. Interestingly, respondents with higher levels
of education were keener to receive TVET education
(53% of them, compared to 41% of respondents
with no formal education). Still, not more than 6% of
respondents favoured enrolling in a TVET programme
in the next two years. The discrepancy may reflect
a weak integration of skills development with the
education system. It could also be due to lack of links to
employment.
Low aspirations towards vocational courses
could also be due to the poor reputation and
attractiveness ofTVET. In the FGDs, youth attributed
this to the low quality of TVET curriculum and pedagogy,
lack of alignment with the job market and the fact that
TVET graduates entered low-paying jobs. In response
to open-ended questions, youth cited lack of facilities
as some of the major challenges and asked for more
training programmes in schools. Other reasons identified
were lack of recognition by society and the perception
that TVET courses are a ‘backup’ option for ‘less
academically-inclined’ students.
“The government should pay more attention to
providing suitable vocational training for youth
in the country.”
Female, 15, Sri Lanka
“First, I want the government to secure
the crucial security situation to improve
and establish employment and service
organizations. Secondly, I want to see the
establishment of training and technical
opportunities by the government for qualified
individuals.”
Female, 20, Afghanistan
“Education alone is not enough. Education
should be result-oriented. Vocational education
should be provided. Training should be
provided suitable to jobs. Training according to
work and markets, etc. is needed.”
Female, 24, Nepal
“The problem starts from the very beginning
of our education. To this day, technical
education is neglected in our country and
those with such education do not have enough
work opportunities. But spreading technical
education could be the first step towards
solving the unemployment problem.”
Male, 22, Bangladesh
LOW ASPIRATIONS TOWARDS VOCATIONAL COURSES
COULD ALSO BE DUE TO THE POOR REPUTATION AND
ATTRACTIVENESS OF TVET. IN THE FGDS, YOUTH ATTRIBUTED
THIS TO THE LOW QUALITY OF TVET CURRICULUM AND
PEDAGOGY, LACK OF ALIGNMENT WITH THE JOB MARKET
AND THE FACT THAT TVET GRADUATES ENTERED LOWPAYING
JOBS.
Youth see value inTVET, but in its current form and delivery it is not
aspirational.
65 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Neeshan is currently enrolled in an apprenticeship
in the construction trade in the Maldives.
©UNICEF Maldives/2019/Webster
“Through the apprenticeship, I’ve learned
so many skills. I actually got a chance to
do site work and learn new things, like
excavation, foundation reinforcement,
machinery operation, plumbing,
electrical skills, bar bending works,
concrete making, roofing and finishing.
Work has been full of new experiences
because you learn something new every
day.”
Neeshan, 17, Maldives.
65 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
66 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FGDs with female and male students of a governmentTVET institution in Raipur state of
Chhattisgar, India
The majority of FGD participants
had migrated from rural areas of
Raipur to attend the training and
were attending a free governmentrun
training scheme. The trades
being learnt were generally
gendered: female students were
specializing in ‘apparel’ and male
students in ‘electrical’ skills. Most
participants agreed that the new
skills learnt would help them expand
their job options and potentially
increase their earning capacity.
Across gender, the participants
reiterated that they needed
more practical work in training
institutions to enhance their skills
and less theoretical education.
Overall, students were satisfied
with the quality of the courses
and appreciated the fact that they
were free. In terms of areas for
improvement, they requested
more on-the-job training. A female
participant shared: “Less theory and
more practical hours should be there
for apparel trade students, as this
requires more practical training”. A
male participant stated: “Industrial
visits should be conducted”.
Participants were overall
optimistic about future jobs
prospects, but distance issues
were potential obstacles,
especially for girls. Most female
students wanted to go back to their
hometown, but felt that commuting
to work would be too difficult for
them: “After training I want to do a
job nearby my place and if the job
is far away it will not be possible
for me to work”. A male participant
added: “Training centres should be
near to our village area so that we
do not have to leave our family”.
Those who wanted to set up their
own business shared that that they
did not receive enough information
about the process of getting loans
and entrepreneurship support
provided by government.
FGDs with female and male students specializing in the automobile trade at a governmentfunded
technical training institute inThimphu, Bhutan.
The majority of FGD participants
said that they were passionate
about studying and working in the
automobile sector. Most of them
were school leavers and unemployed
youth who had enrolled in the
institute to acquire skills and obtain
better job opportunities. Many of
them aspired to eventually become
self-employed: “First I will work
under someone and then open my
workshop”.
Most of them preferred a
government diploma over private
certification, as government
training was well-recognized
among employers. However, youth
reported that the institute did not
provide boarding facilities and the
stipend paid by government was
too low to sustain them in Thimphu.
They also reported having to work
with non-functional automobile
equipment, which made it difficult to
gain practical work experience.
All of them had come to know
about the institute either through
their parents, relatives or friends.
They highlighted the role their
families played in guiding them
towards TVET and in influencing
career decisions: “Relatives and
parents have influenced me”.
In Bhutan (and in all FGDs
conducted withTVET students
across South Asia),TVET
certification was seen as a
pathway to finding ‘blue-collar’
work abroad, especially for male
youth. Many FGD participants
aspired to go abroad: “I will work
under someone for a few years in
a workshop and then go abroad
to learn more skills in the field
of automobiles”. A male youth
from Bhutan reported that skill
development would improve their
chances of getting employed, but
had apprehensions about the salary,
with many of them wanting to earn
more money abroad.
IN BHUTAN (AND IN ALL FGDS CONDUCTED WITH TVET
STUDENTS ACROSS SOUTH ASIA), TVET CERTIFICATION WAS
SEEN AS A PATHWAY TO FINDING ‘BLUE-COLLAR’ WORK
ABROAD, ESPECIALLY FOR MALE YOUTH.
67 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
“To myself: I must improve my communication
skills, leadership skills, and have a good dress
sense, not to give up when I fail.”
Female, 20, Sri Lanka
“To government: I say provide skills and training
to those who need it, not to those who are
needed.”
Female, 17, India
“There are way too many qualified (and overqualified)
people, and not enough jobs. As
there are so many unemployed, provide
training to improve their skills.”
Female, 23, Maldives
“Please open training programmes on
communication and interpersonal skills, etc.
Newcomers are inexperienced. Providing them
with such training would really help them.”
Male, 18–20, Pakistan
“I expect private employers and the
government to remove all kinds of inequalities
that are essential for gaining skills, i.e.,
technical and vocational training, industrybased
training, and communication skills. Also,
young people should gather real life skills
sooner in life.”
Male, 24, Bangladesh
South Asian youth value soft skills as much as hard skills, but not enough
youth are receiving necessary training in soft skills.
© UNICEF Sri Lanka/2019/Jayawardena
68 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
South Asian youth value soft skills as much as
hard skills in education and employment. When
asked about the skills that youth required more training
on, the most desired were: information and IT skills
(computer and software skills), interpersonal and
communication skills (leadership skills, teamwork, etc.)
and resource management skills (investment and money
management).
While South Asian youth place considerable
value on skills, there is not enough skills trainings
being delivered. In particular, youth with no formal
education received less training in interpersonal and
communication skills than those with some formal
education. Youth with no formal education are twice as
interested (30%, versus 15%) in acquiring interpersonal
and communication skills training, compared to those
with education. This stark comparison may indicate
that formal education provides youth with opportunities
to develop their soft skills. It also means that many of
those without schooling perceive this lack quite clearly.
As observed inTable 13, demand for training
is higher among youth than what is received,
indicating that the education system has not met
the demand. This includes formal schools and other
institutions delivering training. In five of the six skill
types measured, unmet demand is larger than the
number who have received training. Interestingly, in
TVET, 6% had received such training, whereas 14%
felt the need to receive further training in this area. This
could reflect the desire of youth to reskill and/or upskill
in technical and knowledge-based trades that can lead to
concrete job opportunities and higher incomes.
Overall, 25% of respondents cited that they had
not received any skills training, especially young
women. The countries with the highest proportions
were Pakistan (33%) and Bangladesh (26%). Across all
countries apart from India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives,
the percentage of female youth who had not received
any form of training was higher than of males, thus
adding to the challenges faced by women in obtaining
the rights skills for employability.
In FGDs across South Asia, youth with access to
technology reported using the Internet and social
media for information, skill development and
learning. Despite their socio-economic status, female
and male youth saw social media and platforms like
‘YouTube’ as a great tool for self-learning. This shows
that smartphones are becoming large classrooms and
that learning is becoming democratized, with youth now
consuming online content that is accessible to all.
TRAINING RECEIVED % TRAINING NEEDED %
Information and IT skills 23 Information and IT skills 27
Interpersonal and communication skills 20 Interpersonal and communication skills 21
Resource management skills 16 Resource management skills 19
Technical and vocational skills 6 Technical and vocational skills 14
Language skills 3 Language skills 5
TABLE 13
Have you received any training? (n of responses=36,804); What other training do you think you need? (n of
responses=33,596) (South Asia weighted average, % of responses)
IN FGDS ACROSS SOUTH ASIA, YOUTH WITH ACCESS TO
TECHNOLOGY REPORTED USING THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL
MEDIA FOR INFORMATION, SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND
LEARNING.
69 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
Closing the gap in youth skills and employment begins with understanding their journey from adolescence
to adulthood. To that end, research was conducted to understand how South Asian youth feel about employability,
education and skills and to identify the factors that affect them at different stages of their education and workforce
trajectories. Voices were heard from 33,280 female and male youth between the ages of 15–24 years, living in
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Surveys were conducted
through a questionnaire available in 11 local languages and disseminated through social media using targeted
Facebook ads.
Unlocking the full potential of the region’s demographic dividend will require governments, young people,
and the business community to improve the quality of secondary education and upskill South Asia’s
workforce. Young people are a massive segment of the population with an immense potential to benefit their
societies socially, politically and economically. Maximising the demographic dividend means fostering a generation of
young people ready for the future of work. To not do so means leaving behind more than half of the next generation’s
potential. Thus, there is an immediate need to skill and upskill the workforce, or countries may ‘automate before
they educate’, leading to ‘jobless growth‘. There is no better path to stronger economies and peaceful societies than
investment in quality education and skills development for a successful transition from education to employment
and from adolescence to adulthood.
ASPIRATIONS, BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES
Youth are pragmatic and seek a solid place in the
job market. For most youth, education is a means to
an end – after concluding their education, most of them
aspire to join the workforce. South Asians are motivated
and have goals in life, but the opportunities available to
them are limited. These challenges have an impact on
the confidence levels of youth, who feel that the odds
are stacked against them.
South Asian youth have strong aspirations, either
for education, skills development, employment or
entrepreneurship, but there are many barriers to
overcome at different stages of their education and
workforce trajectory. Overall, 47% of youth said that
the top external barriers to finding employment are the
demand for bribes by employers, discrimination, and a
preference to hire within the employers’ own network.
Lack of jobs was the main barrier for youth with low
education levels from rural areas, whereas unfair
hiring practices was the main obstacle for those with
education.
Female youth in particular, are more likely than
male youth to be outside the labour force and not
participating in education. Young women reported
facing multiple obstacles and are more disadvantaged
than their male counterparts in accessing work. As
they reach adulthood, they are more likely to get stuck
in economic inactivity, whereas men are more likely to
enter the labour force.
Young people together with governments,
the private sector and civil society have a
responsibility to ensure that youth voices are
heard, their aspirations are met, and their
contributions recognized as co-creators and
agents of change. The transition from adolescence to
adulthood is a period of physical, psychosocial, cognitive
and behavioural maturation for young women and
men. As they grow and thrive, they seek opportunities
to make decisions and act independently – they gain
agency and look for opportunities, voice opinions,
access services and play meaningful roles in decisions.
There is an urgent need to bridge and connect the
worlds of education, training, and employment so that
young people are supported in this transition.
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
CHAPTER 5
70 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Reduce gender gaps and break down the social and gender norms that marginalize girls and
boys.
•	 Create genuine equality of opportunity in recruitment processes and in the workplace to give a fair
chance to young people entering labour markets and those seeking economic mobility.
•	 Expand ancillaries to make cities, commuting and workplaces more hospitable for young women in
education, skills training and employment.
•	 Challenge gender stereotypes, social norms and change biases in relation to gender roles to enable
girls to have the same learning and career opportunities as boys.
2 Empower youth to exercise their rights in decisions that affect them in life and work.
•	 Create and sustain organized structures for young people’s participation in decisions related to
employment, holding institutions to account on these decisions.
•	 Support youth-led organizations and initiatives representing the interests of young people in public
policy and planning and social dialogue.
•	 Invest in young people’s capacities, networks and partnerships. Include youth who have historically
remained excluded from and underrepresented in decent work, notably those working in the
informal economy.
•	 Strengthen young women’s voices in implementing pay transparency policies and legal protections
for women, including policies for greater social protection, such as removing gender-based job
discrimination and closing the gender wage gap.
3 Promote youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial mindsets in South Asia.
•	 Ensure that youth entrepreneurship and self-employment efforts are integrated and aligned with
national strategies and industry-related development plans, while at the same time ensuring an
enabling policy and regulatory environment.
•	 Enable access to training, finance and social enterprise development for young entrepreneurs with
aspirations to enter green and greening markets, equipping them with the tools to address issues
in their communities and encouraging them to become agents of social and environmental change.
•	 Support the start, growth and sustainability of youth-led businesses through a tailored combination
of training, business mentoring, and financial education, as well as by increasing the availability of
financial services and information, especially for young women, young migrants and refugees, and
other vulnerable youth.
TRANSITIONING FROM SCHOOLTO WORK
The transition from school to work is a pivotal
moment for young people, but today’s South Asian
youth feel unprepared to enter the workforce. Already
early in their lives, pressure on youth to provide financial
support can lead them to make difficult choices, such
as dropping out of school. This leads to lower work
prospects, making them feel that they lack agency in
determining their future.
Although South Asian countries have managed to
provide access to education and technical education,
the demand and supply cycle will only be in sync if
the education system is able to prepare an industry
ready workforce that caters not only to domestic,
but to global markets as well. Among those who
have pursued education, nearly a quarter of youth
respondents feel that the education system did/does
not sufficiently prepare them for work. South Asian
youth want more and better support services to improve
employability in transitioning from school to work.
71 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
RECOMMENDATIONS
4 Provide better quality and more relevant curricula, integrated into mainstream education with
the necessary secondary-level skills to prepare students to become productive and engaged
citizens.
•	 More diversified and competency-based curricula are needed, with technical, vocational and general
education at upper secondary level and with attention to which aspects are relevant at which age
and stage of learning.
•	 Deliver quality teaching that provides students with relevant foundational competencies, as well
as transferable, technical, and digital skills, including entrepreneurship and workforce readiness, to
equip youth to make the leap from education to the 21st century world of work.
•	 Increase girls’ participation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning.
•	 Engage in education sector planning that promotes the strengthened coordination between
different ministries and development partners addressing education, skills development and
livelihoods to ensure convergence to enhance the skills and employability of young people.
5 Help young people transition to, and progress through, secondary education and expand
learning opportunities for the most vulnerable and marginalized youth.
•	 Scale up proven solutions related to increasing geographical accessibility to secondary and higher
secondary schools. Support travel by providing transport or other resources.
•	 Improve the transition from primary to lower secondary school for the most marginalized youth and
tackle barriers that limit access to secondary level education, especially for girls.
•	 Complement incentives for young people to remain in school with efforts to raise awareness in
communities about employment prospects from continued education and the holistic benefits of
girls pursuing education.
•	 Reach OOS adolescents with expanded alternative learning pathways (ALPs) and second chance
education that are flexible and accredited, which can include innovative technologies that are
demonstrated to strengthen learning and employability for hard-to-reach and vulnerable groups.
6 Step up private and public investment in the institutions, policies and programmes that
support school-to-work linkages.
•	 More private sector engagement, including the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) and informal firms in youth skilling and employment initiatives, is needed to increase
opportunities that link education to on-the-job learning. Examples include: internships, formal
apprenticeships, and job shadowing, as well as proven initiatives that support girls’ school-to-work
transition.
•	 Expand public-private partnerships for ALPs that are proven to facilitate the transition for OOS
adolescents into further education, training or the labour market through a combination of
foundational literacy and numeracy and transferrable skills tied to basic livelihoods training.
•	 Prioritize national employment and labour market policies that address school-to-work transition
challenges with greater coordination between different ministries addressing education, skills
development and livelihoods, together with youth and development partners.
Improving the quality and relevance of secondary
education across the region will create pathways for
successful transition from education to employment
and from adolescence to adulthood. The problem
with the labour force preparation of youth, starts with
poor access to quality secondary education. There is a
skill shortage in South Asia and part of this is because
of the low outcomes in secondary school. Secondary
education is an important determinant of a young
person’s employment trajectory later in life. Skills
training can build on the foundation that education
provides, but it cannot be a substitute for it. Schools
must cultivate social and life skills from early grades,
and transferable livelihoods training at higher levels of
schooling. This can be followed by more in-depth skills
training programmes for specific employment skills.
72 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
LOOKING FOR WORK
South Asian youth rely primarily on personal efforts
(Internet searches, newspaper advertisements,
approaching employers) and networks (family
and friends) to find jobs. Institutional mechanisms
supporting youth employment, such as government
matching programmes, recruitment companies and job
fairs, are considered less helpful.
The private social network of family and friends
constitutes one of the most frequently used
channels to look for work. However, lack of
transparency in the hiring process is at the source of a
significant portion of the disillusionment experienced
by youth. This is a long-term challenge that can only be
addressed by ensuring equality of opportunity.
Most youth reported migrating out of their
hometowns to look for meaningful employment. Job
opportunities in South Asia are limited, due to which
youth either decide to become self-employed or migrate
to industrial hubs. Moving to urban areas for work was
more prevalent among youth from rural areas and was
found to be more common for men. Youth with lower
levels of education were more likely to look for jobs
outside.
RECOMMENDATIONS
7 Provide better labour market information and career guidance.
•	 Expand labour market information platforms and address information failures, including forecasts
on skill requirements by job role and level, so that employers and jobseekers can obtain better
information about available human capital, the employment landscape, and market demand.
•	 Increase investment in public employment services, combining digital services with career
guidance and successful counselling models and placement services, and improving labour market
information to support decision-making.
8 Expand partnerships between the public and private sectors to improve connections between
job seekers and work opportunities.
•	 Increase public and private partnerships that focus on career guidance, mentoring, and
apprenticeships, as well as through shared solutions for demand aggregation, employment
exchanges, and better connections to training providers.
•	 Encourage the use of private providers of services for training and employment placement, while
governments focus on ensuring there is adequate oversight and monitoring systems.
•	 Create job-matching platforms that better connect employers with young labour market entrants
and build youth networks within chambers of commerce.
73 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
19
Foundational skills consist of literacy, numeracy and, increasingly, digital literacy. Digital literacy includes the ability to use technology, as well as the
social and emotional skills needed to safely navigate the digital space.
20
Transferable skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and confidence. Increasingly demanded by employers in today’s fastchanging
economic and social landscapes, transferable skills help young people to adapt to change and improve their chances of finding and keeping
decent work.
21
These are job-specific skills and associated with specific occupations.
RECOMMENDATIONS
9 Improve the existing technical and vocational skills structures and modes of service delivery to
enhance the quality, relevance and outcomes of trainings.
•	 Integrate skills within all major economic growth policies so that skills feed into the broader growth
agenda, ensuring robust regulatory frameworks and appropriate funding and implementation of
policies.
•	 More equitable and effective TVET funding modalities are needed for the expansion of large-scale
public and private sector technical and vocational skills and market-adapted training, catering to the
specific needs and diverse profiles of youth.
•	 Expand industry and private sector engagement and enable regular communication in the skills
sector to link skill training with tangible job prospects and address training relevance.
•	 Build a positive image of TVET through quality assurance systems, stronger labour market
relevance, hiring and retaining quality instructors and assessors, and updated curriculum and
modes of instruction based on rapidly changing market needs.
•	 Establish a standardized system of qualifications and a robust accreditation framework, recognized
by both mainstream academic institutions and employers.
DEVELOPING SKILLS
There is overall acknowledgment by youth of the
need to have both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills and to learn
new skills to adapt to the changing nature of work.
Still, despite interest, technical and vocational courses
were not found to be aspirational among youth. South
Asian youth value soft skills as much as hard skills,
including: information and IT skills, interpersonal and
communication skills and resource management skills.
Young people are not receiving the foundational,19
transferable,20
and technical21
skills required to
keep pace with the evolving demands of the fastchanging
world of work. Overall, the largest group of
respondents (25%) cited not having received any skills
training, especially young women. If unaddressed, the
skills gap will continue contributing to high levels of
unemployment for higher education graduates and large
informal economies with young workers in vulnerable
employment.
Strong foundational, technical, and transferable skills
form the basis of an individual’s ability to cope with
transformations in an era of rapid change, where the
share of jobs requiring high-level skills will increase.
Better preparation of school-leavers for labour market
entry is critical to facilitating the job matching process
and reducing the period of unemployment, easing
the school to work transition. Governments, workers
and employers, as well as education institutions, have
complementary responsibilities in building an effective
and appropriately-financed learning ecosystem that
develops the capacities of youth at critical junctures in
their lives.
74 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
RECOMMENDATIONS
10 Advance skills for employability and workforce readiness by significantly expanding access to
transferable skills, especially for young girls, inside and outside the formal education system.
•	 Expand financing and access to transferable skills and digital literacy for youth, as well as
transferable livelihoods training and in-depth skills training programmes for specific employment
skills.
•	 Promote linkages between skills providers, government, and industries to bridge the gap between
the kind of skills employers want and the training that public and private sector institutes provide.
•	 Provide the poorest girls (especially those involved in hidden informal work including domestic work
and agriculture), and single and young mothers, with financial incentives to stay in school or to
participate in youth employment or skills development programmes.
11 Step up private and public investment in learning that enables youth to acquire skills as well as
to reskill and upskill.
•	 Increase public and private financing, including new models of public and private partnerships, in
job training and skills interventions that facilitate the formalization of those in informal employment.
•	 Advance more integrated, comprehensive and scalable approaches to re-training and lifelong
learning programmes to help youth reorient their career paths, focusing on transitioning from the
informal economy and on sectors that are more vulnerable to automation.
•	 Address coordination failures within and across various institutions engaged in skills development,
both from a policy and a delivery perspective, ensuring education and skills interventions (supply)
are connected to job opportunities (demand).
75 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
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76 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
1.	 In what language would you like to answer this
survey?
A. Bengali (Bangladesh)
B. Bengali (India)
C. Dari
D. English
E. Hindi
F. Nepali
G. Pashto (Afghanistan)
H. Sinhalese
I. Tamil
J. Telugu
K. Urdu		
2.	 Where were you born?
A. Afghanistan
B. Bangladesh
C. Bhutan
D. India
E. Maldives
F. Nepal
G. Pakistan
H. Sri Lanka
I. Other
3.	 Which country are you living in now?
A. Afghanistan
B. Bangladesh
C. Bhutan
D. India
E. Maldives
F. Nepal
G. Pakistan
H. Sri Lanka
I. Other
4.	 In which province are you currently living in? Please
choose one.
xxxx	
5.	 The area you are living in is…
A. Rural
B. Urban
6.	 How old are you?
xxxx
7.	 What is your gender?
A. Female
B. Male
C. Other
8.	 What is the highest level of education you
completed?
A. Never attended
B. Some primary schooling, but not finished
C. Completed primary schooling
D. Some secondary schooling, but not finished
E. Completed secondary schooling
F. Some post-secondary schooling
G. Completed post-secondary schooling (e.g.,
vocational, technical education or university)
9.	 What is your parents’/carer’s level of education?
Please indicate only the highest level of education
achieved by either parent.
A. Never attended
B. Some primary schooling, but not finished
C. Completed primary schooling
D. Some secondary schooling, but not finished
E. Completed secondary schooling
F. Some post-secondary schooling
G. Completed post-secondary schooling (e.g.,
vocational, technical education or university)
10.	 What do you see yourself doing in the next two
years? (select the three most important ones)
A. No plans
B. Study
C. Do a technical/vocational programme
D. Work at home
E. Get married and be a housewife/husband
F. Work in my country
G. Move for work
H. Start my own business
I. Find a job with a better salary
J. Stay in the same job
K. Apprenticeship/internship, or volunteer
L. Follow my passion
M. Other (please say)
11.	 How confident are you that you will be able to
achieve your future job goals in two years?
A. Not confident at all
B. Not very confident
C. Not sure
D. Quite confident
E. Very confident
ANNEX 1.
ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
77 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
12.	 What, if anything, do you see as your biggest barriers
to future employment? (choose the three biggest barriers)
A. I lack work experience
B. I lack confidence
C. I lack education qualifications
D. I have few contacts or information
E. Criminal record
F. Family pressure
G. Being a single parent
H. Not having the right skills
I. Mental health issues
J. Physical disability
K. Alcohol or drug dependency
13.	 Which two of these additional barriers are most
difficult? (select the three most important ones)
A.There are no jobs here
B. Discrimination
C. Employers demand bribes
D. My legal status in the country
E. High cost to get to work
F. Employers only hire within their networks
G. Other (please say)
14.	 Have you ever worked?
A.Yes, it was a paid job
B.Yes, but not paid
C.Yes, but not paid, I worked for my family in farming
D.Yes, but not paid, I worked for my family business
E. No (skip to question 18)
15.	 How old were you when you first started working?
xxx
16.	 How did your first job help you? (Please choose the top
three.)
A. Financed my education
B. Supported myself and my family
C. Gave me useful skills/built experience
D. Grew my network and contacts
E. Helped me understand what it feels like to be at work
F. Helped me get my next job
G. Other (please say)
17.	 Please tell us if you have ever been offered the
following:
A. Informal work (daily cash in hand, black market job, etc.)
B. Illegal work (sex work, drug dealing, gangs, etc.)
C. I’ve been offered both
D. None of these
18.	 I am currently… (please select one)
A. Studying (skip to question 23)
B. On a traineeship or apprenticeship (skip to question 22)
C. A housewife/househusband (skip to question 23)
D. Unemployed (skip to question 23)
E. Self-employed/running my own business (skip to
question 21)
F. Working (skip to question 21)
G. Other (skip to question 23)
19.	 What do you do with the money you earn? (please
select one)
A. Spend it mostly on myself
B. Spend it mostly on my parents and siblings
C. Spend it mostly on my spouse and kids
D. Spend it mostly on our extended family
E. Other
20.	 Did anyone help you find this job/traineeship/
apprenticeship?
A. Parents/family
B.Youth worker
C. School
D. Friend
E. I found it myself
F. Other
21.	 Have you ever applied for a job outside your country?
A.Yes
B. No
22.	 Have you ever moved outside your hometown for
work?
A.Yes, within my country
B.Yes, within the South Asia region
C.Yes, outside the South Asia region
D. No
23.	 What steps have you undertaken to find jobs? (select
all that apply)
A. I ask family and friends
B. I look for jobs on the internet, newspapers, or approach
employers
C. I use private employment agencies
D. I go to job fairs
E. I created my own business/organization
F. I registered with a government employment agency
G. I do volunteer work or community service
H. I’m in a technical job training programme
I. I’m not actively looking for a job
J. Other (please say)
24.	 Which of the following are the MOST USEFUL to find
work? (choose the three most important ones)
A. Personal networks – parents, family, family friends
B. Newspapers
C.Teachers, careers advisor
D.Youth/community worker
E. Internet – Job websites and social media
F. Government funded employment programmes
G. Friends and people I know who are working
H. Private employment agencies
I. Job fairs
J. Other (please specify)
25.	 Have you ever had to work while studying?
A.Yes
B.Yes, I dropped my studies to work
C. No, I was studying full-time
D. No, I didn’t study (skip to question 29)
E. I tried to find work, but none was available
78 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
26.	 While in education, were you offered any of these?
(select all that apply)
A. Meeting a career advisor
B. Aptitude test and what jobs you are best suited for
C. Advice about setting up your own business
D. Employers or apprentices visiting you
E. Visits to career fairs
F. CV workshops or interview sessions
G. Information about universities and colleges
H. Information about trainings, jobs, internships
I. None
J. Other (please say)
27.	 What do you think about the following statement?
“The job support I got from schools and educational
institutions improves my chances of getting a job.”
A. Strongly disagree
B. Disagree
C. No opinion
D. Agree
E. Strongly agree
28.	 Have you received any of the following trainings to
improve your work opportunities? Select all that apply.
A. How to save, invest, money management, etc. (resource
management skills)
B. Computer, software training, etc. (information and IT
skills)
C. Leadership skills, teamwork, etc. (interpersonal skills)
D. Industry-specific technical skills (technical and vocational
skills) (skip to question 32)
E. Foreign language classes, etc. (language skills)
F. Public speaking, presentation skills, etc. (communication
skills)
G. None of the above
H. Other (please say
29.	 Would you consider enrolling in a technical and
vocational education and training (TVET) programme? For
example practical skills training relating to industries such
as automobile, electronics, construction, metal, agriculture,
tourism, etc.
A.Yes
B. No
C. Not sure
30.	 What other trainings do you think you need to improve
your chances of getting a job/better jobs? Select all that
apply.
A. How to save, invest, money management, etc. (resource
management skills)
B. Computer, software training, etc. (information and IT
skills)
C. Leadership skills, teamwork, etc. (interpersonal skills)
D. Industry-specific technical skills (technical and vocational
skills)
E. Foreign language classes, etc. (language skills)
F. Public speaking, presentation skills, etc. (communication
skills)
G. None of the above
H. Other (please say)
31.	 To achieve your job goals, what would you ask to the
following groups of people?
A.Your support network (friends, family, community)
B. Employers
C. Government
D.Yourself
Please tell us all about your ideas and demands for young
people!
79 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
1.	 Focus group discussion (FGD)
A FGD is a qualitative research technique consisting of a structured discussion and used to obtain detailed
subjective information from a group of people about a particular topic. The purpose is to stimulate participants to
give information about their opinions, beliefs, perceptions and attitudes. Focus groups are often conducted among
homogenous target populations, who usually share a common characteristic such as age, gender, or socio-economic
status.
2.	 Objectives
In addition to the VoY survey, FGDs will help collect youth’s opinions and stories of particular demographics to
unpack in more depth young people’s experiences and perspectives on the labour market. This will give us valid
insights into their experiences, especially keeping in view vulnerable and under-privileged groups from the region, to
ensure their specific experiences and needs are included.
3.	 Location/venue
Organize the meeting at a safe and comfortable environment (e.g., not direct under the sun) that is easily accessible
by all the participants.
4.	 Date and time
Ensure the mobilization of participants before the meeting as far as possible (responsibility of UNICEF country
office). As the country office is facilitating access to participants, the purpose of visit and agenda for the discussion
shall be pre-defined. A plan shall be shared with the team beforehand as to how the groups shall be divided.
Consistency should be ensured so that results are comparable.
5.	 Focus group composition
•	 Youth from urban locations (in low payed and/or informal economy)
•	 Working youth in rural locations from low income families
•	 Students in or alumni of TVET institutions
•	 Differently-abled youth
•	 Youth in vulnerable employment (in low paying, informal economy and/or hazardous jobs)
•	 Youth migrating for work (from low income families)
•	 Entrepreneurs
6.	 Group size
For proper facilitation, the ideal size of the focus group should be 10–15 participants.
7.	 Duration of the FGD
Each FGD shall be conducted for a duration of 1.5 to 2 hours approximately.
ANNEX 2.
FGD PROTOCOL
80 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
8.	 Seating arrangements for FGD
Ensure comfortable seating for the participants. Each participant should be able to interact face to face (preferably
circle/semi-circle for better facilitation). A comfortable space for the facilitator, observer and interpreter should be
available.
9.	 How to conduct the FGD – ‘To dos’ for the facilitator:
Introduce yourself to the focus group and explain the purpose of the visit. It is important to explain the rationale to
avoid raising expectations. Explain what you will do with the information, and be very clear that when asking about
needs, there is no guarantee that things will change, however, to the extent possible, you will pass on their feedback
to relevant authorities.
Key steps to be followed:
•	 To begin with, make sure you obtain their consent and get their signature on the consent form from each
participant.
•	 The discussion might touch upon some sensitive issues. Ensure participants that there is no requirement to
respond if the question causes discomfort. Participation is completely voluntary, and participants are free to
answer or not, or to leave at any point.
•	 Reassure participants that confidentiality will be kept throughout in that no names or personal information will be
disclosed or used in any publications/reports.
•	 Explain that you will be taking notes during the interview to help you remember what was said and it will not be
shared with others.
•	 Make sure that your notes reflect as closely as possible what was said. When it comes to analysing the
outcomes, the more detail captured the better, quotable passages, which can be very powerful. Scant notes can
render the exercise useless.
•	 Ask if there are any questions before starting the interview.
•	 Set aside time to build rapport, and without getting too personal, spend some time showing genuine interest
in the people to whom you are speaking, to learn about them and to put them at ease. Encourage the group to
speak freely about the subject without fear of being judged by others. Use your judgement and be a bit creative.
•	 For recording ask for permission of the group, “may I record the discussion?” (if yes, switch on the recorder).
•	 Follow the facilitator’s “welcome, introduction and instructions” to participants:
	» Welcome participants
	» Introduce them to the purpose of the FGD
	» Inform them about the duration
	» Explain the ground rules to be followed during the FGD by all participants
	» Introduce yourself and the team to the participants to warm up
	» Ask all participants to introduction themselves
	» Follow the sequence of the questions in the FGD Checklist to guide you through the session
•	 On completion of the FGD, do not forget to thank them for their valuable input and feedback.
81 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
10.	Facilitator’s welcome, introduction and instructions to participants
Welcome and thank you for volunteering to take part in this focus group. You have been asked to participate as your
point of view is important. I realize you are busy and I appreciate your time.
•	 Introduction:
This focus group discussion is designed to assess the aspirations and constraints that impact on youth succeeding
in the evolving South Asian economy. The focus group discussion will take no more than one hour and a half.
•	 Anonymity claim:
I would like to assure you that the discussion will be anonymous. The tapes will be kept safely in a locked facility
until they are transcribed word for word, then they will be destroyed. The transcribed notes of the focus group will
contain no information that would allow individual subjects to be linked to specific statements. You should try to
answer and comment as accurately and truthfully as possible. If there are any questions that you do not wish to
answer or discussions you do not want to participate in, you do not have to do so; however, please try to answer
and be as involved as possible.
•	 Ground rules:
	» The most important rule is that only one person speaks at a time. There may be a temptation to jump in
when someone is talking, but please wait until they have finished.
	» There are no right or wrong answers.
	» You do not have to speak in any particular order.
	» When you do have something to say, please do so. There are many of you in the group and it is important
that I obtain the views of each of you.
	» You do not have to agree with the views of other people in the group.
•	 Warm up:
	» Does anyone have any questions? (Answers)
	» OK, let’s begin
	» First, I’d like to introduce myself and my team.
•	 FGD session:
	» To begin with, all the participants, if you can share your brief introduction.
	» For facilitating the session refer to the guiding questions and follow the sequence.
•	 Conclusion:
	» Thank you for participating. This has been a very successful discussion.
	» Your opinions will be a valuable asset to the study. We hope you have found the discussion interesting. If
there is anything you are unhappy with or wish to complain about, please speak to me after the FGD session.
	» I would like to remind you that any comments featuring in this report will be anonymous.
11.	Some tips for the facilitator, observer and interpreter
•	 Notice body language and expressions.
•	 Make sure to listen to participants, non-judgmentally and intervene if others are judging them, reminding them of
the respect for other’s opinions.
•	 Encourage that only one person talks at a time and remind people and the interpreter not to go too long in
between translation, as you will lose a lot of the detail.
•	 Use neutral comments and encourage the quieter people to contribute – “Anything else?”, “Does anyone else
have something to add?”, “How about this side of the group?”
•	 Explain to interpreters the importance of translating sentence-by-sentence and not summarizing what people say.
Interviewers should help interpreters by asking only one short question at a time and by reminding them about
confidentiality of the discussions.
•	 Summarize the whole discussion (if time permits).
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12.	List of FGD questions
FGD group 1.Youth from urban locations (male and female participants engaged in low payed and/or
informal economy)
•	 Work experience – Please tell us about your current work. (Contract, regulations/restrictions, hours, leave,
wages/payment [e.g., wage premiums/amount/timeliness/deductions], risks [health & safety], non-contract
demands, harassment, supervision, benefits/incentives).
•	 Information and networks – What are the top three ways in which you get information about jobs and training
opportunities? (e.g., word of mouth, family connections, recommendation from previous trainees/workers, social
media, TV, etc.)
•	 Future priorities and needs – Where would you like to be in 2 years’ time? What kind of help would you need to
achieve that goal?
•	 Barriers for work/skills acquisition – What are the main barriers for women in accessing and staying in education,
jobs and training? (e.g., age, caste, physical, child care, lack of confidence, lack of education qualifications,
few contacts or information, family pressure, not having the right skills, mental health issues, alcohol or drug
dependency, no jobs here, discrimination, employers demand bribes, legal status in the country, high cost to get
to work, employers only hire within their network)
•	 Perceptions about discrimination/ work mobility – What do you think of the following statement: “Employers
have a preference for male workers over female ones”: 1. Strongly disagree; 2. Disagree; 3. No opinion; 4.
Agree; 5. Strongly agree. Why?
FGD group 2. Working youth in rural locations from low income families (male and female participants)
•	 Work experience – Please tell us about your life. How do you spend most of your time? In school, at home, at
work, in training?
•	 Motivations and influences work/skills acquisition – Who influences choices in case of career aspirations? (e.g.,
role models, peer pressure information, media, culture, family expectations/pressure/preferences, limited job
opportunities, obligations in family/status, responsibility)
•	 Barriers for work/skills acquisition – What are the main barriers in accessing and staying in education, jobs and
training? (e.g., age, caste, physical, child care, lack of confidence, lack of education qualifications, few contacts
or information, family pressure, not having the right skills, mental health issues, alcohol or drug dependency,
no jobs here, discrimination, employers demand bribes, legal status in the country, high cost to get to work,
employers only hire within their network)
•	 Future priorities and needs – Where would you like to be in 2 years’ time? What kind of help would you need to
achieve that goal? Would there be any pressure/ influence on your career choices?
•	 Information and networks – What are the top three ways in which you get information about jobs and training
opportunities? (e.g., word of mouth, recommendation from previous trainees/workers, social media, TV, etc.)
FGD group 3. Students in or alumni ofTVET institutions (male and female participants)
•	 Motivations and barriers for work/skills acquisition – What led you into vocational training? Influence/reasons for
choosing/not choosing training- what attracts/what doesn’t (e.g., marketing by training providers, guarantee of
jobs, better pay, acquiring skills)
•	 Motivations and barriers for work/skills acquisition – What have been the benefits and disadvantages of TVET?
(access to the labour market, acquire skills, discrimination based on caste, gender, etc.)
•	 Perceptions about work options/mobility – What are your perceptions about different training provisions? (e.g.,
government training, private training, length of training, disadvantaged groups, who goes, who doesn’t and
why?)
•	 Perceptions about work options/mobility – What do you think of the following statement: “Skills development
training improved my chances of getting a job?” 1. Strongly disagree; 2. Disagree; 3. No opinion; 4. Agree; 5.
Strongly agree. Why?
•	 Future priorities and needs – Where would you like to be in 2 years’ time? What kind of help would you need to
achieve that goal?
83 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
FGD group 4. Differently-abled youth (male and female participants)
•	 Work experience – Please tell us about your life. How do you spend most of your time? In school, at home, at
work, in training?
•	 Information and networks – What are the top three ways in which you get information about jobs and training
opportunities? (e.g., word of mouth, recommendation from previous trainees/workers, social media, TV, etc.)
•	 Barriers for work/skills acquisition – What are the main challenges for differently-abled youth in accessing and
staying in education, jobs and training?
•	 Future priorities and needs – What are your dreams and ambitions? Where would you like to be in 2 years’ time?
What kind of help/support would be needed? Is there anything you wish you could learn and would be helpful for
you to achieve your goals?
FGD group 5.Youth in vulnerable employment (engaged in low paying, informal economy and/or hazardous
job) (Make sure that this FGD is done carefully considering sensitivities and ethical considerations)
•	 Work experience – Please tell us about your current work. How did you get this job?
•	 Barriers for work/skills acquisition – What are the main challenges in accessing and staying in education, jobs and
training? (e.g., lack of confidence, lack of education qualifications, few contacts or information, family pressure,
not having the right skills, mental health issues, alcohol or drug dependency, no jobs here, discrimination based
on gender, caste, ethnicity, etc., legal status in the country, lack of connections)
•	 Future priorities and needs – Where would you like to be in 2 years’ time? What kind of help would you need to
achieve that goal?
•	 Perceptions about work options/mobility – What are your perceptions about work options/ mobility for better
employment? In case you want to gain more skills and move to a better paid job, what are the possibilities?
What do you think of the following statement: “In most cases employers hire within their family and contacts.”
1. Strongly disagree; 2. Disagree; 3. No opinion; 4. Agree; 5. Strongly agree. Why?
•	 Perceptions about work options/mobility – How do you currently voice your opinions? (e.g., about working
conditions, working hours, working conditions, leave, salary, flexibility, etc.)
FGD group 6.Young entrepreneurs
•	 Work experience – Please tell us about your current work.
•	 Motivations – What was your motivation to become an entrepreneur? (e.g., better income, passion for an idea,
better work, international experience, skills, connections, secure futures, savings, marriageability, etc.)
•	 Barriers for work/skills acquisition – What are the main challenges for entrepreneurs? (e.g., lack of confidence,
lack of education qualifications, few contacts or information, family pressure, not having the right skills, mental
health issues, discrimination, based on caste, gender, ethnicity, etc., employers demand bribes, legal status in
the country, high cost to get to work, employers only hire within their network)
•	 Future priorities and needs – Where would you like to be in 2 years’ time? What kind of help would you need to
achieve that goal?
•	 Information and networks – Who would you go to for advice about your business/organization? (e.g., parents/
careers, business start-up programmes, private sector investors, careers advisors, mentor/teacher/youth worker,
social media)
84 Voices ofYouth South Asian Perspectives on Education, Skills and Employment
United Nations Children’s Fund
Regional Office for South Asia
P.O. Box 5815
Lekhnath Marg,
Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977 1-4417082
E-mail: rosa@unicef.org
Websites:
www.unicef.org/rosa
www.facebook.com/unicefsouthasia
© UNICEF South Asia
Issued on June 2020
Cover Photo © UNICEF/2019/Webster