This paper examines the effects of a government-sponsored apprenticeship training program designed to address high levels of youth unemployment in Ghana. The results show that apprenticeships shift youth out of wage work and into self-employment. 

Since 2016, the Balearic Islands Employment Service (SOIB) has been developing a Dual Training Programme focused on the Blue Economy for youth eligible for the Youth Guarantee System. It aims to qualify unemployed youth (aged 16- 29) using apprenticeship contracts in collaboration with local Blue Economy companies and Vocational Education Training (VET) centres in the field of nautical maintenance, engineering, painting and maritime carpentry.

This case study highlights success stories from Jordan in education related to scale, skills, and affordability and to reaching those who are under-served.

This tool addresses the question of how to improve the relevance and quality of vocational education by engaging with the private sector. It offers an overview of the topic and provides a tool for application-oriented analysis, planning, and development of its project ideas.

This report outlines a framework for the soft skills young entrepreneurs need now and in the future to better navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing job market. This research report literature review and interviews with expert, youth-focused organizations around the world. 

This study reviews sector concepts, strategies and approaches for reintegration. With the overview of existing instruments and methods, it aims to strengthen practical development support for countries and communities facing reintegration challenges. It argues that the successful reintegration of displaced populations forms a key element in post-conflict recovery, reconstruction and peacebuilding situations and that within the reintegration context, education and TVET are cornerstones and key sectors in rebuilding societies and sustaining peace.

This presentation from the Caribbean Forum on Population, Youth and Employment outlines the regional challenges for youth employment in the Caribbean and the case for the Blue Economy.

The toolkit provides information on important processes and characteristics of demand-driven training models and is designed to support practitioners in assessing the market alignment of their youth training program, while also identifying where the program can be improved.

This study presents new evidence from employer and household surveys on the role of socio-emotional skills—as well as more traditional cognitive and technical skills—in the Philippine labor market. The Philippines is still at an early stage in terms of its ability to measure and develop socioemotional skills.

This note showcases best practices of some GAN members to promote work readiness programs and equip young people with skills to join the workforce. Some of the common features that contribute to the success of these initiatives include a strong support from senior management, clear and measurable goals and diligent tracking of results.

The ILO Toolkit for Quality Apprenticeships is a resource to improve the design and implementation of apprenticeship systems and programmes. It provides a comprehensive but concise set of key information, guidance and practical tools for policy-makers and practitioners who are engaged in designing and implementing Quality Apprenticeships.

S4YE collaborated with LinkedIn to use LinkedIn’s unique data base to address the question: what is the alignment, or mismatch, between the skills employers are demanding and those among the young talent supply? It focuses on four middle-income countries (Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa) and analyzes 390,000 entry-level postings and 6.4 million LinkedIn profiles of youth ages 21-29 to better understand top industries of employment, as well as recruitment and skills trends.

In this report, Youth Employment Funders Group, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation identifies implementation and evaluation challenges in soft skills training and suggests directions for investment in cost-effective, scalable, and sustainable interventions and knowledge.

This report explores elements and principles that are central to apprenticeship programs design and presents examples of best practices from around the world that LAC countries can use as potential instruments.

This paper presents the insights on some key issues related to youth unemployment - how can training more effectively prepare young people for work? What roles do expectations, perceptions and aspirations play in young people’s access to employment? - offered by members of the Skills to Succeed practitioner network.

This toolkit presents a series of dimensions, standards and indicators of quality that enable entities that provide career guidance, training and job placement services to review their processes, assess their services and develop improvement plans that take into account identified constraints and the proposed objectives.

Despite growing interest in this topic, however, there is no clear consensus about which soft skills are likely to produce the most significant benefit to youth and to what extent these skills are similar or different across key outcome areas. This report identifies the core soft skills that would create positive outcomes across important areas of youth’s lives, including workforce success, violence prevention, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

What are Skills Trainings, and how can they boost youth employment? This brief video will help to learn about the success of skill training programs.

This toolkit, prepared for Indonesia, is compiled based on the policy landscape of the country that provides further guidance in understanding for local companies in implementing apprenticeship program.

This resource guide features resources based on experience in 8 countries from 2008-2015 and is intended to help make skills training programs more inclusive of and effective for young women.