USAID’s Building the Potential of Youth Quarterly Report Year Five Quarter Three

The goal of the activity is to assist youth in increasing their assets and incomes through employment or better employment, while building the capacity of local institutions to continue this work in the long term. POTENTIAL aims to provide rural youth with transferable life skills training alongside vocational and entrepreneurship development activities through partnerships with training, small business, and micro-finance institutions. The activity is being implemented in 30 woredas of six regions in Ethiopia, including Afar, Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR, Somali, and Tigray. Some areas where POTENTIAL is implemented are very remote, rural areas that are difficult to reach. The activity is designed to reach 34,537 unemployed or underemployed rural young men and women aged 15-29. POTENTIAL has three objectives: IR1, IR2, and IR3. IR1 aims to develop a rigorous evidence base to inform USAID and its development partners on appropriate, effective, and sustainable market-driven youth workforce development interventions. IR2 seeks to improve youth access to market-driven skills and experiences to support the transition to safe and viable employment. IR3 focuses on coordinating delivery among local institutions of quality market-driven services connecting underserved youth, especially women, to employment and income opportunities. To achieve these objectives, POTENTIAL will ensure that training and service providers consider market relevance and target curricula and programs to meet the skills needs of youth participants. The activity will also offer tailored technical and life skills trainings to youth to create more viable livelihood prospects. Additionally, POTENTIAL will expand approaches and offerings in Work-Based Learning, including employer visits, organized job shadowing, short-term employment, and internships, that will lead to workforce-ready and employable youth with practical experience. The activity is being implemented under a cooperative agreement between USAID and a consortium led by Save the Children, including Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), HUNDEE-Oromo Grassroots Development Initiative (HUNDEE), Professional Alliance for Development in Ethiopia (PADet), Relief Society of Tigray (REST), Facilitator for Change Ethiopia (FC), and Brandeis University. The activity was awarded on January 1, 2015, and is currently in its fifth year of implementation. POTENTIAL has made significant progress in achieving its objectives. The activity has developed a rigorous evidence base to inform USAID and its development partners on appropriate, effective, and sustainable market-driven youth workforce development interventions. Additionally, POTENTIAL has improved youth access to market-driven skills and experiences, and has coordinated delivery among local institutions of quality market-driven services connecting underserved youth, especially women, to employment and income opportunities. The activity has also expanded approaches and offerings in Work-Based Learning, including employer visits, organized job shadowing, short-term employment, and internships, that have led to workforce-ready and employable youth with practical experience. Furthermore, POTENTIAL has built Youth Service Provider Networks and provided a cost-effective approach to enhance support services and access to remote communities and disadvantaged groups. Overall, POTENTIAL is making significant progress in achieving its objectives and is contributing to the development of youth in Ethiopia. The activity's focus on market-driven youth workforce development interventions, improved access to quality and relevant basic life, work readiness, and employability skills training, and increased capacity of local training and business service providers to integrate and deliver market-driven employment services is critical to achieving the activity's objectives.