ESR Evelien Storme presented on the Multidimensional Youth Employability Index to colleagues of the Research group on Education and the Labour Market at the HIVA Research Institute for Work and Society at KULeuven.

The index, which is part of the doctoral research of Evelien that was conducted at the secondment partner SALDRU, aims to unpack vulnerabilities in the lived realities of South African youth that hamper their employability.

By measuring and mapping deprivations in the domains of economic opportunities, social capital, education and learning, health and wellbeing and connectivity, the index shows how employability is impacted by many different factors and how it plays out differently for youth depending on where they live, which population and gender group they belong to, and what kind of work they undertake in the labour market. These insights can be helpful for policymakers and organisations wanting to improve the employability of youth at local level.

In Belgium, HIVA conducts policy-oriented research including on themes related to the inclusion of vulnerable groups into the labour market and employability. As such, the presentation offered a great discussion on the South African results and the differences and similarities with the Belgian context, and on the aims of policy-oriented research and the role of instruments like the index in this, more broadly.