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Learn more about the importance of partnerships with different stakeholders to promote youth employment.

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WORKING TOGETHER TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE ENGAGED IN PRODUCTIVE WORK

Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE), housed in the Labor and Skills Global Solutions Group within the Social Protection Global Practice of the World Bank, is financed by the Jobs Umbrella Multi-Donor Trust Fund. S4YE acts as a strategic gateway to connect youth employment stakeholders with over 150 youth employment operations in the World Bank.

The Secretariat promotes knowledge on youth employment programs, shares global youth opportunities, and advances small-scale innovative youth employment solutions.

S4YE has built up a network of donors, governments, foundations, private sector companies, civil society organizations, and youth. Some of these partners include Accenture, Adecco Group, The African Capacity Building Foundation, Economic Research Forum, Global Affairs Canada, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Germany), International Labour Organization, International Youth Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, Microsoft Philanthropies, National Skill Development Corporation, United Nations Youth Office, and Youth Business International.

This initiative addresses the challenge ahead – in the next 10 to 15 years, the Global South will have 1.2 billion young people ages 15 to 24 ready to enter the workforce but only 400 million will be employed, often in precarious jobs. Successful youth employment initiatives can help fill this gap.

S4YE is working over the next decade to continue fostering peer-to-peer learning sessions and thematic exchanges, strengthen youth representation and participation in World Bank events, and build a platform with World Bank regional teams to develop operational innovations with potential for scale.

OUR MISSION

To support innovations in programs which enable an increasing number of young people to engage in dignified and productive work

OUR APPROACH

S4YE focuses on experimenting and piloting innovative solutions on the ground while working closely with the private sector and bringing together evidence based knowledge on specific topics of interest to the youth employment community

S4YE facilitates innovative solutions to youth employment at scale, through practical research and active engagement with public and private stakeholders. S4YE combines a pragmatic approach to identifying solutions for youth employment with an evidence-based advocacy platform for increase access to productive work for young people.

Read our full strategy and learn more about our governance.

partnerships

BUILD PARTNERSHIPS

S4YE is built on partnerships that support the execution of the Coalition’s goals and priorities. These partners come from across the public and private sectors, are at the forefront of their respective fields, and act as investors, champions, implementers, peer reviewers, and advocates who identify and promote innovative solutions for youth employment.

 Our Partners

Accelerating innovation

ACCELERATE INNOVATION

S4YE intends to develop and deliver innovative youth employment programs based on evidence from existing projects and that pull in ongoing lessons learned. These programs will integrate supply-side programs (e.g. training, job search assistance) with demand-side interventions to promote the creation of new jobs and improve the quality of existing jobs.

 Our Programs

report

EXPAND OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE

S4YE is developing a strong knowledge agenda by curating best practices from program innovations on the ground and building a robust database of flagship reports, briefs, tool kits, online discussions, blogs, and workshops. These products are then shared with partners, projects, and the broader global employment community.

 Knowledge Base

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

S4YE engages youth perspectives through the Youth Advisory Group (YAG).

The S4YE Youth Advisory Group (YAG) has grown from 17 initial members to 120 youth leaders globally. They represent 65 low- and middle-income countries.

These inspiring young innovators and entrepreneurs who have pioneered initiatives or provided solutions to a development challenge act as a resource to any World Bank team seeking youth input. They provide feedback and policy recommendations on World Bank flagship reports and knowledge work, contribute to the design of World Bank operations and participate in learning and leadership events.