DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions and World Economic Forum strategic partner, is heightening the call for more collaborative public-private initiatives that focus on launching productive careers for youth worldwide, at the 2012 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos next week.

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Since ManpowerGroup publicly identified the dawn of the Human Age one year ago at the WEF 2011 Annual Meeting, dramatic crises have ruptured around the globe, amplifying the forces that converged to create this new era. Unemployed young adults, between the ages of 16-24, are a factor in recent crises, particularly the Arab Spring. Civic upheaval in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria magnified how a lack of opportunity among young adults triggers unrest.  

Years that this population group typically spends in starter jobs, securing the training needed to advance into a subsequent career level, are going to waste, depriving employers of a reliable and robust talent pipeline in future years.  

More than 80 million young people are unemployed today, according to the International Labor Organization. Of the 34 nations in the OECD, at least 16.7 million young people are unemployed — while approximately 10 million youth are not even seeking work.

"Not only could we lose more than one generation of young people to unemployment, but businesses which do nothing to prepare youth for careers will be void of the workforce and leadership needed to strategically grow and sustain their companies," said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup President of the Americas and Chairman of Junior Achievement in the United States. "Today's youth possess enormous potential and it's the responsibility of public organizations and companies to unleash it if they want to remain competitive.  The bar on constant innovation is skyrocketing in every industry. But companies cannot come close to reaching it if they fail to tap the innovation and creativity in tomorrow's workforce."

The special youth initiatives listed below are key to kick-starting a job training effort in a particular region, however ManpowerGroup advocates that every country build out nationwide and/or regional skills development programs that provide critical and growing economic sectors with properly trained workers. For example, countries across Asia have committed resources to advancing the technical skills of their construction workforce, which is needed to develop infrastructure. In turn, improved logistical infrastructure is needed to speed products to market and accelerate economic growth.   

ManpowerGroup has a long history of partnering with programs that train and mentor youth. Here's a snapshot of several key efforts:

Education for Employment Foundation
ManpowerGroup, MasterCard and Microsoft support the Education for Employment Foundation (EFE-Maroc) in implementing a large youth training and employment program across Morocco. ManpowerGroup's employability training curriculum "Finding a Job is a Job" is being delivered to at least 12,500 youth enrolled in public Moroccan universities and youth centers over the next four years through this program. Unemployment for young urban males in Morocco is at 31 percent, according to the U.S. Department of State, 2010.

Also, across the Middle East and North Africa, ManpowerGroup is providing access to a suite of online training courses to EFE staff, trainees and alums. The youth unemployment rate in the Arab World is at 25 percent, according to the International Finance Corp.

Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sport
ManpowerGroup has partnered with the Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sport and the USAID to advance employment opportunities for youth through career guidance programs across the country. More than 200 young people received ManpowerGroup employability training in 2011 in three locations. The unemployment of youth in Serbia is at 46 percent, according to the national statistics agency.

TEN Youth Project
ManpowerGroup, a member of the WEF's Global Agenda Council on Youth Unemployment, supports WEF's TEN Youth Project which engages emerging multinational companies across the world in training, employing and mentoring young people. Companies in Jordan, India and Serbia have already committed to it.

Summer Jobs+
As part of the Summer Jobs+ program recently launched by the White House, ManpowerGroup was among roughly 50 organizations and the only company in its industry honored this month for helping train youth with relevant skills and providing them with jobs. Through partnerships with local U.S. Workforce Investment Boards, One-Stop Career Centers and Junior Achievement, ManpowerGroup has advanced the career prospects of thousands of young Americans.

"Teaching a Man Not to Fish is Humanly Possible," ManpowerGroup's new CSR report summarizes how ManpowerGroup bridges the gap between people, including youth, and jobs in the most human of ways. The complete update is available here: http://manpowergroup.com/social/srreport.cfm.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined — because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, being the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2011 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility. In addition, ManpowerGroup has also been recognized as the industry leader by Fortune magazine, who named the company in first place on its 2011 list of the Most Admired Companies in the temporary help sector.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

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

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

SOURCE ManpowerGroup