In this joint effort, employees from our corporate partners share their time, skills, expertise and own career stories, both online and offline. These volunteers plan workshops, facilitate exposure to professional environments and act as professional mentors. Employees and young people can connect face to face or through the digital platform YouthLinks, which enables worldwide collaborative learning through online mentoring.
YouthCan! combines mentoring, first work experience, and soft and technical skills trainings within one comprehensive approach. The programme is locally-led, tailored to the local labour market and to the needs of each young person.
In 2020, 6,500 young people across 37 countries received holistic support through YouthCan!, a 14% increase in the number of participants from the previous year. The increase was made possible through the commitment and engagement of 1,473 volunteers from 232 partners worldwide, and due to the focus on developing online activities. Moving from a mostly face-to-face employability programme to one that was largely online, ensured young people had continued access to training, mentoring, and personal and professional networks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020 results demonstrate that YouthCan! provides crucial support to one of the most at-risk groups across the globe and is the right type of investment for young people, society and generations to come.