Youth Employability

Young people who have lost or are at risk of losing parental care often find the transition from school to starting a career particularly challenging, as they cannot count on the networks, resources or guidance that their peers may have access to. SOS Children’s Villages, together with young people, partners and corporate volunteers, has been developing innovative ways to ensure a confident transition to independence.

GLOBAL CONTEXT

The COVID-19 pandemic gave young people across the globe a rocky start to their careers in 2020. The ILO warned of a real risk of a lost generation, citing an 8.7% employment loss among youth, more than double that for adults. Young workers were often the first to lose their jobs and also more likely to accept part-time or precarious employment. On top of this, disrupted education and lack of digital access put young people from vulnerable backgrounds at an even further disadvantage.

YOUTHCAN! GOING DIGITAL

Our global partnership for youth employability continued to expand in 2020, thanks in part to our YouthLinks digital platform – with 211 of our 334 activities taking place at least partially online to combat the challenges of COVID-19. As a result, six times as many people took part in our YouthCan! online activities as in previous years and 74% of young people believe that connecting with mentors and peers helped them cope with the pandemic while being confined at home.

 

WORLD OF TOMORROW WEBINAR

In December 2020, young people moderated a global conversation between youth and the CEO of Deutsche Post DHL on youth employability. The event was organized in collaboration with DPDHL, a long-standing strategic partner of YouthCan!. DPDHL employees have been mentoring young people in our programmes since 2011. The webinar connected youth and volunteers from over 91 countries, facilitating exchange on a larger scale in the face of the pandemic.

I have found new self-confidence about what I can achieve.

 

- Adjokê, participant in the SOS Children’s Villages / NetHope Device Challenge project

How we boost youth employability

YouthCan!
 

YouthLinks
 

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