Please complete both side of the index cards:
Side 1: What are your expectations for this session?
Side 2: What are some indicators for success in achieving
your expectations?
When it comes to Youth Employability, “One-Sized
Approaches” DO NOT fit All
Eric Rusten, Senior Associate, Workforce Development
Linda Adami, Technical Manager, Communities in Transition
Magdalena Fulton, Senior Associate, Youth in Development
Driving Question
Can Workforce Education and Development
Programs Enable Large Numbers of
Marginalized and Disaffected (M&D) youth in
crisis & conflict affected environments to
Permanently Transform their Lives and Achieve
Economic Empowerment?
Yes, if they are designed and executed well.
Okay!
How do we achieve this at scale?
Video Story: Youth Transformation
Youth Profile - Agustin Coroy
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Former gang member
Father
Mentor
Employee
Activist
Model of success
Discussion Context
 We are focusing on marginalized and disaffected youth.
 We are focusing on youth in conflict/crisis-affected
environments and those dealing with internal crisis.
 We are concerned about the need to rapidly replicate and scale
high-impact programs without losing quality.
 We seek to enable permanent positive transformation that
enables an intergenerational shift in the state of young people
with a significant multiplier effect.
 We believe that youth are the engines for their transformation and
the architects of their future.
Why are we concerned?
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A workforce supply & demand disconnect
Economic crisis and distortions
The “youth bulge” a youth wave & dividend
Extreme unemployment & underemployment
Increasing inequality, poverty & human suffering
Social and civil unrest, conflict & war
Environmental crisis & climate change
Accelerating rates of change & feelings of losing control
Lower resilience in many human & natural systems
Five forces: a) globalization; b) technology; c) economic shifts;
d) political change; & e) demographic shift
Blue Group Activity
 Characteristics of Marginalized &
Disaffected youth living in conflict &
crisis affected environments or with
internal crisis?
Definitions
• Marginalized youth are characterized by poverty, lack of formal
education, few or no support mechanisms / networks, unsupportive or
broken family structure, and lack of positive reinforcement. Yet
marginalized youth have assets which they may be aware of and some
perceived opportunities pulling towards both positive and negative
risk-taking. Their expectations are largely unmet, however they
generally express hope for a better future.
• Disaffected youth are characterized by those mentioned above but
compounded by additional losses which pull a young person towards
greater negative risk-taking. There is a perceived or a real loss of
support structures and supporting values; dignity; increase in
humiliation; opportunities for education, work, inclusion; and positive
risk-taking. In short, they lack hope for a better future.
What is Workforce
Education & Development (WED)?
What are some characteristics & principles of
WED Learning Systems?
Green Group Activity:
 Who is part of the workforce?
 What characteristics & principles
of effective WED learning system are
most important?
Select Characteristics &
Principles of Effective WED Systems
• Focuses on student learning with outcome measures
• Learning integrates relevant technical, social-life, basic
education & employability skills.
• Fosters authentic, persistent and consistent caring of all
• Connected to employers for relevant learning and jobs
• Access to mentors and guided internships
• Enables autonomy, mastery and purpose
• Access to psychosocial and career counseling
• Staff have strong technical & pedagogical skills
• Uses self, peer and external assessment methods
• Based on international standards and certification
Conventional View of WED
Systems
Basic
Education
System
Higher
Education
System
Supply
Self-Employment
Employers
Workforce
Training
Providers
Demand
Entrepreneurship
What is missing?
What is missing…
People:
• With connections & relationships to other people, civil society,
communities, & the environment
• As decision makers who seek autonomy, mastery & purpose in
their lives
• As individuals with talents, potentials, desires, challenges,
needs & dreams
 WED should NOT happen to people; people should drive
the systems
 WED competencies cannot be given, they can only be learned.
Creative’s View
WED systems are ecosystems comprised of people,
organizations, governments, programs & the environment that
enables individuals to make choices and to gain a mix of
capabilities, skills, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs, over time,
that can empower them to: realize their potential; create
sustainable livelihoods; develop rewarding careers; establish
healthy families & relationships; be creative and innovative;
grow a country’s economy; and pursue happiness and purpose
in their lives.
WED Systems in Action
 Central America–Enabling at risk youth to access
alternatives
 Morocco, India, Cambodia – Dropout mitigation
 Mozambique – Enabling OVCs to transform their lives
 Brazil – Enabling economic empowerment by young
women living in crisis environments
 South Africa – Enabling unemployed college graduates
to secure quality jobs and build careers
CASE:
Enabling At-Risk Youth to
Transition to Positive Futures
The Creative-implemented AJR USAID/SICA project seeks to
reduce youth gang activity in Central America.
WED to Reduce Violence
in Central America
 Change perceptions via Challenge 10 Reality TV Show
 Challenge 100 Job Placement Program
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Identifying ex-gang members
Evaluating psychological state & capacity of ex-gang members
Providing individual, group & family counseling and psychosocial support
tattoo removal
job skills learning & job placement
follow up with youth >> 100% success rate
 Employability & Entrepreneurship
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English language
Computer use and repair
Graphic Design
Electricity
Microenterprise development
Youth Outreach Centers
 Safe spaces for youth living in marginalized areas plagued by endemic
violence and crime.
 Formed through an alliance between churches, municipal governments
and the community to reduce the risk factors for vulnerable youth.
 Responsive to the needs and desires for youth.
Features of Outreach Centers:
 Positive use of free time
 Vocational skills learning
 Referral services
 School retention initiatives
 Life skills learning
 Volunteerism
Strategies to Achieve
Scale with Quality
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eMentoring & Guided internships
PBL, Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose w/ flexible curricula
School to job and career transitions
Youth driven research/learning – MOM, CYM,
Youth managed/owned outreach/learning centers
FUN – sports, drama, music, competition, journalism, etc.
Reflective learning & identity building
Provider/Employer partnerships
Accelerated learning–communication, literacy, numeracy, languages
Engaging with families and the larger community
Preparing learning facilitators & ongoing PD
Long-term (5+ years) impact/results assessments
Using enabling technologies to accelerate learning & increase reach
Critical Challenges
• Preparing WED staff to engage M&D youth & to use
project-based learning methods
• Establishing & sustaining strong links among WED
providers and employers
• Integrating social/life, basic education & employability
skills into WED systems
• Providing psychosocial support and authentic,
persistent & consistent caring for all
• Improving the structure, duration & delivery of existing
WED learning programs
• Documenting the ROI/SROI of effective WED systems
Concluding Thoughts
 M&D youth must have authentic decision
making roles in designing & implementing WED
learning systems
 WED systems must focus on learning to enable
permanent transformation not just immediate
short-term results
 Quality WED systems create authentic durable
partnerships with all stakeholders
 Quality WED systems are responsive to
learners and local contexts
 Others?
THANK YOU!
To learn more:
Linda Adami
Technical Manager
LindaA@creativedc.com
202-572-1307
Magda Fulton
Senior Associate
MagdalenaF@creativedc.com
2027720507
Eric Rusten
Senior Associate
EricR@creativedc.com
202-551-9055
eMentoring
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Overcomes geographic, time, socio-economic barriers
Use email, IM and phones for mentoring relationship
Rich professional network to learn
Powerful support for youth
Professional communication & problem solving
Heterogeneous network; positive reinforcing
Facilitates transition into a new world
“If they think I’m worth something maybe I am.”
M
m
C
Back
Integrated Curriculum
Integrating
Increases Impact
Back
Steps for
Successful Inclusion
Permanent social inclusion & employability requires creating
and growing positive,
attitudes, learning and professional networks
Disadvantaged
Youth’s
Environment
Learning
Civil
Society
Employability Program
Program
Community
Learning
Sustainable
Positive Future
Professional
Network
Community
Community
Job
Marketplace Professional
Networking
Job
Marketplace
Professional
Network
Youth
Job
Marketplace
Learning
Systems
Civil
Society
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