In a world with high rates of unemployment and underemployment, more and more people are looking for work amidst rapid change that is increasing skills mismatches and shortages.

Millions of young people in the developing world acquire skills through apprenticeships in the informal economy. In many countries they greatly outnumber youth acquiring skills through formal technical and vocational education and training.

A new ILO labour standard on quality apprenticeships has focused attention on the need to upgrade training and learning. In this podcast, Yasser Ali, a Specialist on Skills Development based in Amman, Jordan discusses this issue and what needs to be done to strengthen apprenticeships in the informal economy.