Employment prospects for young people

According to the International Labour Organization, a growing number of young people globally are neither undertaking training nor are in employment that provides for their basic needs. As a result, they have little prospect of ever lifting themselves out of poverty. Solidar Suisse creates prospects for these young people.

Poverty instead of work

Millions of young men and women aged between 15 and 24 years old live in poverty, despite the fact that they engage in gainful employment. Most struggle to make ends meet with odd jobs and few have ever learnt a trade.

The global unemployment rate among young people is two to three times as high at the rate for over 25-year-olds. Women are at a particular disadvantage. Often state education systems fail to prepare young people properly for the real needs of the labour market.

It may seem surprising that some developing countries have significantly lower youth unemployment rates than industrialised countries. However, the low rates are explained by the fact that many young people are not counted among the unemployed, even though they do not pursue formal employment. They are among the 80% of young workers who are employed in the informal sector and, in many cases, they barely earn enough to live. In general, young workers are particularly vulnerable to economic fluctuations. In times of crisis they are the first ones to lose their jobs or are unable to find work at all.

Abzeta Koanda vor ihrem Spenglerbetrieb in Burkina Faso

Plumber in Burkina Faso thanks to Solidar vocational training. © Solidar Suisse

Providing access to the labour market

In different countries, Solidar Suisse engages to help young people integrate into the labour market so that they can access social security and live a self-determined life. For example, in Southeastern Europe we have worked to significantly improve the careers advisory services in schools. In cooperation with employers, they are increasingly offering work placements. In Burkina Faso, young people who have dropped out of or not finished their schooling are given the possibility to train for a job that will provide them with a secure future. In El Salvador, where organised crime is a challenge, we create job prospects for young people and in Bolivia we enable young adults to learn how to successfully set up their own small-scale business.