DAVOS, Switzerland – Training the youth for the challenges of a fast-changing world has to be central to any strategy to rebuild the job market following a financial crisis that’s wiped out millions of middle-class jobs over the past five years.

That was the central conclusion that emerged from the annual Associated Press debate at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss village of Davos, which focused on the need to build up skills for a changing economy.

“We need a young labor force,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu said. “Government doesn’t pay enough attention to training and retraining.”