Issue Brief

Takeaways from B20 Issue Note on Education and Employment

Introduction

A rapidly shifting geoeconomic environment in conjunction with the emergence of revolutionary technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the nature of education and employment over the past few years. Therefore, G20 nations are increasingly grappling with modernizing educational and employment training programs to better prepare students and professionals for employment. The B20 Task Force on Education and Employment proposes six key recommendations to support the development of Education and Employment initiatives in G20 nations.

Recommendation 1: Promote a business agenda for job growth and people participation in labour markets, recognising it will promote societal and political stability

Action 1.1: The G20 should establish a regular mechanism for joint finance-employment minister’s meetings to explore concrete ways to promote more employment

The B20 Task Force recommends that G20 nations institutionalise and revitalise joint mechanisms on finance and employment policies at a ministerial level. The Task Force argues that these mechanisms would not only foster greater dialogue on employment, which has not happened since the 2015 Turkish G20 Presidency, but could streamline global regulatory frameworks for job creation.

Action 1.2: The G20 should mandate relevant international organisations to compile policies and regulatory frameworks that create an enabling environment for businesses

To address the shifts in the global employment landscape, the B20 Task Force recommends that G20 nations systematically review employment policy to promote business competitiveness and smooth transitions for employees across assignments.

Action 1.3: Develop G20-owned guidelines and associated actions to boost microentrepreneurs, SMEs and business-led jobs

G20 nations could digitalise regulatory processes, simplify regulations, and provide tax-credits for first-time hires to improve performance of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) and micro entrepreneurship efforts.

Action 1.4: The G20 should ask its Global Infrastructure Hub for a dashboard to encourage employment-related investments

The G20 Global Infrastructure Hub could develop a realistic estimate of jobs that could be created within G20 countries by 2030, which would be used to increase business and investor confidence within G20 economies. Moreover, this would address the pressing challenge that many G20 governments face of effectively prioritising and allocating resources to support infrastructure efforts and upskilling of the workforce.

Recommendation 2: Increase female labour force participation by removing barriers to women’s employment

Action 2.1: The G20 should extend the “Brisbane Goal” to a “Johannesburg Goal” for women economic empowerment

The “Brisbane Goal” was a pledge adopted by G20 nations during the Australian G20 Presidency to reduce the global gender gap in labour force participation by 25% by 2025. With the “Brisbane Goal” set to expire later this year, the B20 Task Force recommends that the goal be extended and titled as the “Johannesburg Goal” with a focus on scaling childcare facilities and reviewing biases against women in G20 tax codes to reduce barriers for women in the labour force.

Recommendation 3: Advance a flexible and pragmatic approach toward digital platform work and the gig economy

Action 3.1: The G20 should advocate for maximum flexibility as new policies emerge on the platform economy

As an increasing share of global commerce is facilitated on digital platforms, G20 nations need to build out capacity and adaptable regulations to streamline digital platform operations. Specifically, the Task Force calls on G20 nations to promote approaches towards digital platforms based on flexibility, innovation and opportunity, which, in turn, would facilitate more effective dissemination of digital content. This would further improve accessibility to opportunities for citizens of G20 countries, particularly those located in rural or other hard to reach places.

Recommendation 4: Equip citizens early on

Action 4.1: G20 should leverage its convening power to improve affordable access to early childhood education

To implement and improve existing early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs across G20 nations, the B20 Task Force recommends that the G20 leverage its convening power by bringing together relevant partners to exchange ECCE best practices, unlocking financing to address unmet needs, and deploy technologies to reach more populations and make early childhood education more affordable.

The B20 Task Force also outlines key strategies that G20 nations could take, to improve the implementation of ECCE in the G20. Specifically, the Task Force mentions that the G20 could implement funding mechanisms and develop multi-modal approaches to addressing and improving ECCE. These outcomes could then be presented at a dedicated summit held in 2026.

Recommendation 5: Connect youth to earning opportunities

Action 5.1: The G20 should task the OECD to determine the pillars and funding conditions for a G20 Youth Employment Compact

G20 countries are faced with an increasing share of NEETs – Not in education, employment, or training – which is increasing youth unemployment. Consequently, the B20 Task Force proposes that G20 nations assign the OECD with the task of addressing youth unemployment in the G20 and reducing the number of NEETs in the population.

Specifically, the Task Force claims that the OECD would assess and review young seeker networks and national initiatives in G20 countries and launch consultations with business and youth representatives to design core elements in a future G20-wide Youth Compact to scale youth employment and upskilling strategies. The B20 Task Force outlines four key goals for promoting youth employment: creating youth opportunities in the private sector, using digital infrastructure to track progress, focus youth and government training on the most in-demand areas, and encouraging more youth to pursue entrepreneurship or other forms of self-employment.

Recommendation 6: Empower re-skilling and upskilling based on real demand

Action 6.1: G20 countries should set and track a goal of 0.5% of annual GDP for investments in lifelong learning

G20 governments and stakeholders have repeatedly highlighted and pledged to support lifelong learning initiatives; however, realistic goals and strategies have not been implemented. Therefore, the B20 Task Force argues that a 0.5% of GDP will allow countries to track progress as well as meet capital requirements. Moreover, the Task Force claims that the B20 Global Institute could oversee observatory initiatives on AI to manage AI’s impact on the future of work.

Read the full Final Paper from the B20 South Africa Task Force on Education and Employment here