Empowering young people for a better tomorrow

Growing up in today’s world is not always easy. It is even harder for those who grow up without the support of a family. SOS Children’s Villages empowers young people to acquire the skills they need to transition to the workplace and an independent life. With our partners, young people can access education, training and mentorship to help develop their knowledge, confidence and resilience. Together, we work to build a better tomorrow, where no one is left behind.

Youth employability

Young people all over the world are facing challenges when trying to find work and transition to independence. 59 million young people worldwide are unemployed. Those without parental care or coming from families at risk of breakdown have an even harder time finding a job. We support young people to help them prepare for the labour market and increase their employment prospects.

Poor education, together with a lack of social support networks, parental encouragement and career guidance are some of the reasons for historically poorer employment prospects of young people living in alternative care.

An assessment in six SOS Children’s Villages programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa and one in Asia revealed the difficulties experienced by young people leaving alternative care to find jobs. Their education often fails to meet labour market demands, they lack experience, and don’t have the personal contacts to get a foot in the door of formal employment. Learn more in: Learning and Education for Development.

Empowering young people

We support young people on their way to employment and independence through a special focus on youth empowerment.

We provide guidance to young people on education and career options, and encourage them to develop their individual interests, talents and opportunities.

We equip disadvantaged young people with the skills and qualifications to increase their employability.

We assist young people to get practical work experience through job shadowing and internships. To do this, we are working in successful partnerships with the private sector, NGOs and government organisations.

A good example is the GoTeach programme with Deutsche Post DHL which improves the employability of disadvantaged young people and early school leavers by connecting them with the world of work. More than 9,000 young people in 26 countries across Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe have benefited from the programme.

We promote access to computers and the internet, and help young people improve job readiness through training in digital skills and digital resources for job seekers.

Learn more about how we work with partners to leverage the benefits of technologies for children, young people and families:

More about ICT4D

YouthCan! Global Report

We validated the success of YouthCan! by commissioning an independent evaluation of its outcomes in four countries: Madagascar, Nigeria, Costa Rica and Brazil. The report offers an overview of the main findings of the midterm evaluation of the YouthCan! programme, which was conducted by the Action Research for CO-development (ARCO) research centre.

Teach and train

Learn about how we support children and young people so they have access to quality education and training.

Youth empowerment news

Find out about our programmes and initiatives to foster employability and empower young people.