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Over the years I have come to know so many dynamic young people who are making significant contributions to their communities. Many others, unfortunately, do not have the skills, education or opportunities to do so.

Yet no matter what their circumstances, all youth aspire to make a successful transition into adulthood – to become productive workers and active citizens. In the Americas, where I have spent my life and career, important progress has been made in terms of improving the quality of life. Yet poverty and unemployment are still at intolerable levels; debt remains high; and international economic prospects remain uncertain.

These conditions continue to have a particularly catastrophic impact on the young people of Latin America and the Caribbean, who are facing from 15 to 40 per cent unemployment, and even higher underemployment.

In fact, in most developing countries, young people are nearly four times more likely to be unemployed compared to adults. The world is failing to absorb the large numbers of youngsters coming into the economic system. And Latin America is not alone.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), youth unemployment worldwide has rocketed over the past decade to 88m, and more than 500m jobs will need to be created to accommodate those entering the job market in the next decade. The ILO underscores the urgency of this global crisis, warning policy makers that they will need to devote “specific attention to creating decent and productive employment” for the world’s youth.

This “youth bulge” – which translates into nearly half the world’s current population being under the age of 25 – will not diminish for years, particularly in developing countries. For this unprecedented number of young people to find work with dignity and join a growing economy, we must do a far better job of preparing them to compete successfully in today’s knowledge-based global marketplace.

That is why I decided in 1995 to create the Youth Programme within the Inter-American Development Bank. We wanted to increase the Bank’s focus on young people as critical players in the economic and social revitalisation of the Americas.

I am particularly proud of the work we did to expand youth employment training. One of our most dynamic initiatives involves a multi-year, multi-sector partnership between the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) and a leading NGO in the field, the International Youth Foundation.

The programme, called entra 21, is on target to benefit about 17,000 unemployed youth across Latin America and the Caribbean through a model training initiative, and is already placing nearly half of those youth in jobs, using their IT skills.

We have learned a great deal over the past few years about “what works” in these programmes – such as the importance of adding life and employability skills to the specific IT training. We have seen the centrality of making internships and job placement an integral part of the process, and now realise that successful training initiatives must reflect and meet the needs of local businesses. And finally, we have come to see the power and potential of multi-sector partnerships positively to impact youth and their communities.

I am also pleased that some of these projects aim to strengthen young people’s IT skills – given that IT and the internet are revolutionary forces, not only in how we live and learn and communicate, but also how we must build and strengthen our economies.

There are a growing number of successful multi-sector programmes being developed in the field, including another IDB partnership with Starmedia Foundation and Microsoft – which seeks to close the digital divide among the region’s poorest and most vulnerable youth.

Today, I am a “retired” banker, recently appointed to secretary-general of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, based in Madrid. Here, I am placing youth development and broad-based economic growth at the heart of our work to build the political and social systems and co-operation in the Americas.

I remain convinced that we must pay far more attention to this critical issue of youth employment and job creation. We cannot afford to have vast numbers of young people who have lost hope in the future and are frustrated and unproductive members of society.

Even the most innovative NGOs or institutions, such as the IDB, cannot have all the solutions to these problems. More resources are needed in things such as transparency and regional investment plans.

There is also an urgent need for companies to take a more active role with government and civil society organisations to push this agenda for economic growth and equity forward.

But most importantly, young people must be at the centre of these efforts. They must aspire to enter the job market or create their own businesses, in ways that ensure their first job is not a dead-end job.

I am optimistic that we can make real progress in breaking the cycle of poverty and inequality, thanks largely to the valuable “best practice” experience we have in how to prepare young people for a better future.

We have seen that just a single regional programme in Latin America has the potential to place 8,000 to 9,000 young people in jobs, positively changing their lives and those of their families forever. Who is to say, if leaders in the public, private, and civil society sectors seriously invest in these “best practice” programmes, that we cannot engage 8m to 9m, or even 80m to 90m young people in similarly innovative and impactful programmes around the world?

Only then will social and economic equality be the norm, not the exception.

Enrique V. Iglesias is secretary-general of the Ibero-American Secretariat headquartered in Madrid. He was president of the Inter-American Development Bank from 1988 to 2005, and served as the executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean from 1972 to 1985. He has recently joined the board of the International Youth Foundation.