Accelerating Work Achievement and Readiness for Employment (AWARE3) Progress Report

In partnership with USAID and J.P. Morgan Foundation, Education Development Center (EDC) will implement AWARE3 to strengthen local education systems and private sector engagement while nurturing soft and technical skills and assets demanded by high-growth industry partners. The project focuses on building local government capacity in 25 Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK) in Jakarta to establish and grow partnerships between schools and the private sector. Proposed AWARE3 components include an evidence-based soft skills training program and associated training package for teachers, industry classes, and youth work-based learning opportunities in five high-demand industries identified by Jakarta Education Agency (JEA): manufacturing, information communications technology (ICT), maritime, creative industries, and tourism. EDC has made significant progress in the second full quarter of the AWARE3 project, accomplishing foundational steps to ensure effective implementation. The team successfully piloted its Work Ready Now! Skills training and undertook a rigorous plan to engage private sector partners and schools in preparation for its Industry Class activities. Despite working with a small team and an aggressive timeline, EDC has managed to expand its reach and meet all expected timelines. Key activities completed this quarter include developing 80 Google Classrooms and related monitoring tools for virtual skills training classes, initiating the implementation of WRN skills training program across 15 schools, reaching a total of 2,731 enrolled students, and formalizing the partnership with Matata Edukasi Inovasi (MEI). The team also launched and completed the intensive curriculum synchronization process across all 15 schools in partnership with MEI and led by EDC staff and School Managers, with a formal launch event hosted by the office of the Governor of Jakarta on March 31, 2021. EDC has confirmed meeting two major milestones: Milestone 5, School Selection Finalized for Cohort 2 (10 SMK), and Milestone 6, Completion of co-design process to develop Industry Classes, resulting in completion of revised/new curriculum of the Industry Classes that will be co-taught. The team has also initiated a convening of 25 private sector partners to orient them to the AWARE3 project activities and engage them as partners in the industry class process. The AWARE3 Results Framework indicates that the priority for this quarter was launching the WRN skills training program, supporting the teachers and School Managers as they initiated their classes/trainings, and convening and initiating the overall industry class planning and development process for launch in April. The WRN implementation involved initiating Modules 0-6 of EDC's Work Ready Now! (WRN) programming across the 15 schools selected for Cohort 1, reaching 2,731 students enrolled in the program. The Employability for Digital Economy (EDE) baseline was implemented with a very high (98%) response rate, showing a high level of reliability and offering a wide spectrum of responses. EDC plans to carry out the endline in the next quarter once students have completed the WRN! Skills Training program. The results will be reported in the next progress report.