Youth for the Future Quarterly Report July 1, 2013 to September 30, 2013

The program aims to provide young people in Jordan with the skills and knowledge necessary to secure employment and improve their socio-economic status. The program's main focus is on two models: Successful Transitions to Work and Sustainable Community Youth Hubs. The first model focuses on providing life skills and vocational training to young people, with a particular emphasis on hospitality and electro-mechanical training. The second model aims to establish community youth hubs that provide a range of services, including life skills training, career guidance, and job placement assistance. During the quarter from July 1 to September 30, 2013, several key accomplishments were achieved. The Abdali "Employment Opportunities Gateway" was launched, which provides a one-stop shop for job seekers and employers. Life skills training commenced in all 13 hospitality vocational training centers, with plans to reach 1200 youth this year. Classes also began for life skills and hospitality training in Ma'an, and youth began electro-mechanical training at Ma'an College through leverage from the Caterpillar Foundation's EquipYouth program. In addition, a 2-day workshop was held to present the final study findings and recommendations for the activation of Article 72 as related to the establishment of day care facilities within the workplace for mothers with young children. A 2-day training workshop on Youth-Friendly Services was also held, which kicked off Y4F's comprehensive training plan to support the handover of Y4F's community youth hub models to the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD). The program also made significant progress in monitoring and evaluation, with the verification of the program's M&E indicators by an external verification firm completed during the quarter. The verification found gaps between what was recorded in the online system and what was available in hard copy, mostly from the CNGO phase of the program. IYF suspects that the primary reason for this was that some files and boxes may not have been included during the handover of documents from the CNGOs to IYF in January 2012. The program also leveraged $195,185 this quarter, and several supporting documents were developed and shared with USAID to support Y4F's application for a no-cost extension. The program's main challenges from the quarter include USAID-Y4F Communications Protocols and Public Sector Capacity Building Constraints. To address these challenges, IYF has put in place new communications protocols to ensure regular updates and a more systematic approach to sharing information, and is communicating with the appropriate managers and supervisors to provide more support to the trainers to ensure that the PTS model is smoothly integrated into the centers' program models. Overall, the Y4F program has made significant progress in providing young people in Jordan with the skills and knowledge necessary to secure employment and improve their socio-economic status. The program's focus on life skills and vocational training, as well as its commitment to monitoring and evaluation, has helped to ensure that the program is meeting its objectives and making a positive impact on the lives of young people in Jordan.