Analysing the Youth Progress Index to develop insights into youth-related public policy
Around the world, today’s youth are facing challenges and upheavals that threaten their ability to progress and potentially succeed in the future. From the technological advancements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the resulting uncertainties around future jobs, to weak labour markets and political anxiety, the outlook can seem quite dire.
Understanding the factors that impact the quality of life of young people is important if society is to know where and how to focus its resources to address the problems facing our youth. This is why Deloitte was one of 6 organisations to jointly develop the Youth Progress Index (YPI), which was released in May 2018.
The YPI is an initiative that seeks to highlight young people’s level of wellbeing across the world by measuring and ranking 102 countries using 60 indicators of social and environmental performance specific to the youth population.
Using the YPI data, Deloitte has now developed further analysis that provides governments and businesses with insights that help them make a greater impact on youth progress in two key areas: technology and civics. The new report, titled Progressing youth, finds that improved access to certain technology factors correlates to improved basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing and opportunity.
The report’s analysis suggests that technological literacy – access and use – can potentially improve the lives of young people globally. The report goes beyond technology, calling in particular on increased civic engagement and a strong business environment to provide greater youth progress.
To do so, Progressing youth provides a series of recommendations to provide more targeted and successful support for youth worldwide. Although youth in every country will need different support, based on local circumstances, leaders from business, government, and society should consider how these recommendations can be incorporated into their jurisdictions.