USAID Youth Actively Create Opportunities Activity Quarter 2 Performance Report FY2023

The Activity aims to combat youth unemployment and encourage youth civic engagement and economic growth across the country. The YACO Activity was awarded to IESC with an effective start date of February 1, 2023. To initiate the start-up phase, IESC's Home Office Program Manager and Associate Vice President of the Workforce, Entrepreneurship, and Youth Practice traveled to North Macedonia on February 20, 2023, to facilitate company registration, bank account opening, recruitment, and begin planning for technical implementation. During the quarter, company registration was completed with both the North Macedonia Central Registry and Secretariat for European Affairs. Additionally, a bank account was opened at NLB Banka to facilitate smooth operations during the reporting period. Temporary office space was also secured, and the search for a permanent office in a central, easily accessible location began. Recruitment of key personnel roles, including the Chief of Party, Economic Opportunities Team Lead, Skills Development Team Lead, and Youth Engagement Team Lead, was completed, and all non-key personnel positions were identified. The Chief of Party, Director of Finance and Administration, Finance and Accounting Assistant, and Media, Content, and Reporting Coordinator were onboarded and started their employment with the Activity full-time. Onboarding schedules for the remaining staff are available in Section 3. The Activity prioritized completion of and negotiation of draft subawards with CEED Hub and Youth Educational Forum (YEF). CEED Hub will provide short-term technical assistance towards skills development and youth economic opportunities (Components 1 and 2), while YEF will contribute to youth engagement through providing the Youth Engagement Team Lead and additional short-term technical assistance to deliver targeted activities. Both subawards will be signed in the next reporting period. To kickoff technical implementation, the Chief of Party held an initial kickoff workshop with the YACO team, Agreement Officer's Representative (AOR), and sub-awardees to discuss initial plans for the next year. Based on this, the YACO Activity began drafting the Year 1 Work Plan and the MEL Plan, both due on May 2, 2023. The YACO Activity works to achieve its objectives through a youth-centered local systems approach, engaging a diverse range of actors within the local system that surrounds and impacts youth in North Macedonia. This includes the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP), Employment Service Agency (ESA), Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), chambers of commerce, youth-serving organizations, private sector businesses, industry associations, non-formal training centers, municipal governments, diaspora, and inclusive civic groups, including those supporting youth with disabilities, rural youth, LGBTQI youth, and other marginalized youth groups. The local systems approach enables YACO to be intentional in forming resource partnerships, from marginalized youth groups to stakeholders proven to be influential and effective. YACO delivers locally tailored solutions and continually learns what works best and most sustainably, including emerging windows of opportunity. The YACO Activity prioritizes interventions under the three Components listed below based on a holistic technical approach that puts youth at the center. All three Components are specifically designed to relate to and reinforce each other. Component 1: Partnerships created to support economic opportunities attractive to youth. Component 2: Youth's competencies for jobs, progressive careers, and civic life strengthened. Component 3: Values and experience that underpin self-reliance promoted. Through these three components, the YACO Activity will result in young people increasing their economic participation (Component 1), improve their competencies (Component 2), and civic engagement (Component 3), and develop confidence about their futures in North Macedonia.