Fostering a better enabling environment for youth skill-building through strong multi-stakeholder engagement

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Based on a qualitative assessment of USAID’s YouthPower projects in 2020; concrete project examples and evaluations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia; and a previous systematic review that identified where and how positive youth development (PYD) projects can be successful, this session will outline the importance of working with a variety of stakeholders when implementing skill-building programs. Using this evidence, the session will discuss how applying a PYD approach and engaging multiple stakeholders throughout the implementation process produces not only economic gains, but also can lead to developing socially responsible youth through skill building.

We believe that this is particularly relevant now during the pandemic as well as in a post-COVID-19 environment. During times of economic distress and high unemployment, it is easy to just focus on a very narrow definition of economic success when designing workforce programs. We will show that applying a more comprehensive PYD approach, encompassing not just tactical “hard-skill” building, but also youth’s agency, their contribution, and–above all–an enabling environment, provides better outcomes. Enabling environments are where a diverse range of education-related stakeholders can have enormous impact on the ability of youth to acquire skills; put them into practice in an employment or entrepreneurial setting; and leverage these skills in their social interactions with partners, families, and their communities.

The session will provide a brief overview of the PYD approach and findings of the YouthPower qualitative assessment. Looking at three different skill-building projects from El Salvador, Indonesia, and Kenya, the session will showcase the important and different roles various stakeholders (e.g., employers, the banking sector, and universities) can play and have in creating a partnership for lasting, broad-based, and sustainable impact with workforce development programs for youth. The skills have also enabled youth to play a stronger role within their families and communities, becoming more socially integrated players.

By learning from these projects and the evidence they generated, future workforce development and other youth skill-building projects can take a more effective approach to stakeholder management.

Sub Unit

• Youth Development and Education SIG

Individual Presentations

• Learning from multi-stakeholder engagement combined with a Positive Youth Development Approach - Maria Brindlmayer, Building Evidence in Education (BE2)

• The importance of Private Sector Engagement in a Youth Workforce Development in Central America - Leanne Webster, DAI

• Partnering with the financial sector for successful youth workforce programs – the example of K-YES in Kenya - Joyce Wafula, RTI International

• The changing role of universities for youth workforce development – the example of Indonesia - Eric Berthold, University of Arizona