Overview of Apprenticeship Systems and Issues ILO Contribution to the G20 Task Force on Employment

In May 2012, the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers concluded in Guadalajara, Mexico that countries should: “…Promote, and where necessary, strengthen quality apprenticeships systems….” with a view to fostering “...sharing of experience in the design and implementation of apprenticeships programmes and exploring ways to identify common principles across the G20 countries by facilitating a dialogue among our social partners who have presented us a shared sense of the importance of apprenticeships." The G20 Leaders Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, in June 2012 endorsed these orientations. The B20 Task Force Recommendations at the G20 Los Cabos Summit also called for scaling up “…the number, quality and image of internships and apprenticeships for young people …” including a cross-G20 internship and apprenticeship exchange scheme. In June 2012, tripartite constituents at the International Labour Conference's committee on The youth employment crisis: Time for action, called on the ILO to engage in the promotion of quality apprenticeships, including in developing countries. This paper, commissioned by the International Labour Organization (ILO), examines both informal and regulated apprenticeship and their advantages for the employment prospects of young people, in particular in regulated systems. It then sets out the conditions necessary for the development of apprenticeship, drawing on examples from a number of G20 countries. The roles and responsibilities of the principal agents involved in regulated apprenticeship are examined and the paper ends with conclusions and lessons drawn from the cross-country analysis