Friday, February 22, 2008
Guide to Private Partnerships for Youth Employment in West Africa
I wanted to give a summary on the paper I have been working on for the past few months. The paper is in its final stages of editing and should become official ILO publication within the next month or so. The idea is to use the contacts made and the ideas contained in the paper to create a regional constituency of private sector actors working on youth employment in West Africa. I've had alot of fun working on this and think that the content of it will really help to create jobs. What lies ahead will be the creation of an effective communication strategy so that the PS understands what a big impact their interventions can have.....
Private Sector Guide to Partnerships for Youth Employment in West Africa
Obtaining meaningful employment has been identified as the central aspiration of the world’s poor in breaking out of their vicious cycles of poverty. West Africa is one of the poorest regions in the world where youth represent the largest age cohort of the population and the highest number of unemployed. There is a vital need for more youth to attain the quality education, relevant competencies, and practical work experience required to facilitate their transition to the world of work. This however, can not be achieved without concerted action by all stakeholders, including the private sector.
This guide represents the first product of the Youth Employment Network for West Africa’s (YEN-WA) Private Sector Initiative (PSI), a multi-stakeholder platform for business action on youth employment in the region. Through the PSI, the YEN-WA is dedicated to promoting the involvement of business in supporting and initiating programmes for youth employment.
The guide profiles 11 cross-sectoral youth employment partnerships between business and civil society, government and multilateral institutions, whose goal is to document and share best practices and lessons learned in collaboration in this issue area. The guide also outlines the rationale for business engagement in youth employment and summarizes the main areas where business contribution can have the most impact on youth.
The Guide has been divided into 2 sections:
1) “Youth Employment and the Private Sector in West Africa”
This section goes into a thorough discussion of the underlying challenges facing business in creating and promoting youth employment before studying the 4 different areas where business can intervene in meeting these challenges, namely:
• Partnering with education establishments
• Involving companies in vocational and skills training programmes
• Supporting young entrepreneurs
• Recruiting young people
This guide also analyzes why it makes “business sense” for companies to become involved in youth employment and looks at the various types of partnerships possible in supporting youth.
The problem of youth unemployment in the West African region is a complex issue involving elements of demographics, economics, education and financing which demands action by a diversity of stakeholders working together. By understanding these issues, actors have a better chance of overcoming and finding solutions to the challenges.
2) “Initiative Profiles”
This section introduces the companies and organizations who have come together to support and promote youth employment by profiling 11 “best practice” projects. These cases serve as a basis for analysis and discussion on private sector engagement in youth employment while acting as a catalyst for similar approaches to youth employment to be developed.
The case studies were chosen in part based on country representation, with initiatives from 12 of the 15 West African countries being profiled. Additionally, as the title of this guide suggests, the study signifies partnerships between a number of different sectors (cross sectoral) and therefore cases were chosen to acknowledge the breadth of these possible partnership types. Five of the case studies come from partnerships between business and civil society; (3) between business and government (public); and (3) between business and multilateral institutions.
The case studies chosen for this guide include:
• Shell LiveWire Nigeria
• Google and Technoserve: Believe, Begin, Become
• Child Labour Alternatives through Sustainable Systems in Education (CLASSE)
• Senegal Promise Programme
• Barclay’s and Youth Business Ghana: Oguaa Business Incubator
• APEJ Internship and Apprenticeship Program
• Ghana Industrial Skills Development Centre (GISDC)
• Guinea Alumina Corporation and USADF: Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Linkages Programme
• Microsoft and UNESCO: Unlimited Potential – Community Multimedia Centres
• Cisco Systems Networking Academy
• GTZ: Employment Promotion for Marginalized Youth through Private Sector Promotion
The youth employment challenge in West Africa is characterized by population increases, education and training systems which are poorly linked to the demands of the labour market and a lack access to financing for young entrepreneurs. The challenge is compounded by an extreme deficit of employment demand in the region caused by a lack of investment and business growth. Significant improvements in the economic environment must be made before youth can attain meaningful employment.
Nevertheless, West African youth represent an enormous untapped resource in the region. This guide strives to underscore the potential contribution that not only the private sector can make to improving the employment situation for youth on the whole but also the contribution that youth can make to enabling business growth.
Private Sector Guide to Partnerships for Youth Employment in West Africa
Obtaining meaningful employment has been identified as the central aspiration of the world’s poor in breaking out of their vicious cycles of poverty. West Africa is one of the poorest regions in the world where youth represent the largest age cohort of the population and the highest number of unemployed. There is a vital need for more youth to attain the quality education, relevant competencies, and practical work experience required to facilitate their transition to the world of work. This however, can not be achieved without concerted action by all stakeholders, including the private sector.
This guide represents the first product of the Youth Employment Network for West Africa’s (YEN-WA) Private Sector Initiative (PSI), a multi-stakeholder platform for business action on youth employment in the region. Through the PSI, the YEN-WA is dedicated to promoting the involvement of business in supporting and initiating programmes for youth employment.
The guide profiles 11 cross-sectoral youth employment partnerships between business and civil society, government and multilateral institutions, whose goal is to document and share best practices and lessons learned in collaboration in this issue area. The guide also outlines the rationale for business engagement in youth employment and summarizes the main areas where business contribution can have the most impact on youth.
The Guide has been divided into 2 sections:
1) “Youth Employment and the Private Sector in West Africa”
This section goes into a thorough discussion of the underlying challenges facing business in creating and promoting youth employment before studying the 4 different areas where business can intervene in meeting these challenges, namely:
• Partnering with education establishments
• Involving companies in vocational and skills training programmes
• Supporting young entrepreneurs
• Recruiting young people
This guide also analyzes why it makes “business sense” for companies to become involved in youth employment and looks at the various types of partnerships possible in supporting youth.
The problem of youth unemployment in the West African region is a complex issue involving elements of demographics, economics, education and financing which demands action by a diversity of stakeholders working together. By understanding these issues, actors have a better chance of overcoming and finding solutions to the challenges.
2) “Initiative Profiles”
This section introduces the companies and organizations who have come together to support and promote youth employment by profiling 11 “best practice” projects. These cases serve as a basis for analysis and discussion on private sector engagement in youth employment while acting as a catalyst for similar approaches to youth employment to be developed.
The case studies were chosen in part based on country representation, with initiatives from 12 of the 15 West African countries being profiled. Additionally, as the title of this guide suggests, the study signifies partnerships between a number of different sectors (cross sectoral) and therefore cases were chosen to acknowledge the breadth of these possible partnership types. Five of the case studies come from partnerships between business and civil society; (3) between business and government (public); and (3) between business and multilateral institutions.
The case studies chosen for this guide include:
• Shell LiveWire Nigeria
• Google and Technoserve: Believe, Begin, Become
• Child Labour Alternatives through Sustainable Systems in Education (CLASSE)
• Senegal Promise Programme
• Barclay’s and Youth Business Ghana: Oguaa Business Incubator
• APEJ Internship and Apprenticeship Program
• Ghana Industrial Skills Development Centre (GISDC)
• Guinea Alumina Corporation and USADF: Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Linkages Programme
• Microsoft and UNESCO: Unlimited Potential – Community Multimedia Centres
• Cisco Systems Networking Academy
• GTZ: Employment Promotion for Marginalized Youth through Private Sector Promotion
The youth employment challenge in West Africa is characterized by population increases, education and training systems which are poorly linked to the demands of the labour market and a lack access to financing for young entrepreneurs. The challenge is compounded by an extreme deficit of employment demand in the region caused by a lack of investment and business growth. Significant improvements in the economic environment must be made before youth can attain meaningful employment.
Nevertheless, West African youth represent an enormous untapped resource in the region. This guide strives to underscore the potential contribution that not only the private sector can make to improving the employment situation for youth on the whole but also the contribution that youth can make to enabling business growth.
# posted by Drew Gardiner @ 5:54 AM 
