USAID’s Building the Potential of Youth Annual Report

and its partners, including Education Development Center, Inc., Facilitator for Change Ethiopia, HUNDEE-Oromo Grassroots Development Initiative, Professional Alliance for Development in Ethiopia, and Relief Society of Tigray. The goal of the Activity is to assist unemployed and underemployed youth ages 15-29 to attain skills, knowledge, and social capital that lead to increased income and economic self-sufficiency, with a particular focus on girls and young women. The Activity aims to increase youths' access to skill-building and employment promotion services through targeted assessments, tailored technical and life skills training, and work-based learning. The proposed strategies and approaches respond to unemployed and underemployed youths' capacity needs, leverage existing youth development activities, and contribute to improving the quality and accountability of local training and business service providers. By the end of 2019, the Activity aimed to build the economic self-sufficiency of 34,537 youth across 30 Woredas within Afar, Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, Somali, and Tigray regions. The Activity has been able to reach 35,984 youth through its transferable life skills training over five years, with participants receiving complementary soft and hard skills trainings, along with continuous post-training follow-up support. The Activity has achieved significant results, including 24,360 youth (43% female) now engaged in new or improved income-earning opportunities, with more than 67% of those who have attended the trainings having secured better livelihood options. Of the total youth employed, 68% are involved in self-employment, 16% were able to find wage employment opportunities, and 16% found better employment opportunities in terms of work safety and income. The Activity has also continued to develop a rigorous evidence base to inform USAID and its development partners on appropriate, effective, and sustainable market-driven youth livelihood development programming. During the reporting year, the Activity implemented four thematic studies on gender, migration, mentorship, and YESG groups, as well as one outcome survey. The Activity delivered Positive Youth Development (PYD) training to 5,856 youth (47% female) and reached 6,320 youth (48% female) through Work Ready Now! (WRN!) and WR+ trainings. The Activity's results demonstrate its effectiveness in addressing the needs of unemployed and underemployed youth in Ethiopia, with a focus on girls and young women. The Activity's strategies and approaches have contributed to improving the quality and accountability of local training and business service providers, and have helped to build the economic self-sufficiency of thousands of youth across the country.