DDTtoolkit
DEMAND-DRIVEn TRAINING
FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
toolkit
Demand-Driven Training for youth employment programs build job-relevant skills valued by employers and useful for self-employment by offering both pre-employment skills development and some form of on-the- job training.
What is the Demand-Driven Training (DDT) Toolkit for Youth Employment?
Demand-Driven:Programs develop and prepare |
DDT refers to those skills development initiatives that are customized to respond directly to specific requirements of a job role for an employer or a group of employers, and lead to placement in employment or self-employment. |
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What is labor market information?
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Labor Market Information (LMI) includes quantitative or qualitative data and analysis related to employment and the workforce. It deals with status, changes, trends and projections of ‘demand for’, and ‘supply of’ labor. |
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Quantitative Labor Market data sources are employment, wage, jobs, vacancies, and other comprehensive reports from national, regional or local government statistical agencies, census bureaus, economic development bodies, etc., or analyses done by private providers of LMI (such as EMSI, ESRI, etc.) |
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Qualitative Labor Market data is usually collected through surveys, interviews and focus groups, with carefully selected experts or representatives from various stakeholders’ circles. |
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Real-time Labor Market data is compiled by aggregating and analyzing actual job postings on the Internet. Vendors (such as Burning Glass Labor Insight) gather information from online job boards, industry-specific job sites, and companies’ recruitment websites, and allow the end user to search with multiple criteria. |
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Understanding Labor Market Information helps stakeholders (policy makers, private sector employers, students and their parents, education and training providers, and others) to make more informed choices related to their personal career, or public and private workforce investments. |
examples of labor market information
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New York`s Monroe Community College uses sophisticated data gathering and analysis systems to create local supply/demand dashboards for occupational clusters - all with the goal of developing and fine-tuning programs that address regional and local skill shortages. |
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MENA-YES youth training for employment program, launched by Global Communities and supported by the Caterpillar Foundation, used the concept of Sector Advisory Committees (SAC) to bring together representatives from private sector companies, education and training institutions, and youth supporting organizations all active in the same target industry sector. The main objectives of the SACs were to promote information sharing on hiring trends, skill requirements and job opportunities in the local market, and to agree on the curriculum outline for most in-demand job roles in that specific sector. |
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To incentivize employers to share their LMI, some TVET centers in the Philippines started offering free five-day certificate courses attractive to local businesses. Providing the course has improved the TVET's access to LMI: many firms now share their immediate and future hiring needs, get involved in curriculum design and training needs analysis, and consider TVET graduates for their job openings. |

What is Partnering?
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Partnering (collaborating, cooperating) is a process of working together for a common purpose or benefit. |
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The DDT approach requires that education and training providers engage and collaborate with private sector employers through various partnership activities that improve the alignment of their skills development programs with employers' current and projects hiring needs. |
PARTNERSHIP CYCLE
Examples of Partnering between Educators/Trainers and Employers
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YouthBuild USA and YouthBuild International, with Saint-Gobain Corporation in the United States and in South Africa. The relationship between YouthBuild, a DDT provider, and the global building materials company Saint-Gobain, started in 2010 with a series of community service projects engaging employee-volunteers to assist YouthBuild students and staff in the design and construction of affordable homes. After several successful projects in various cities across the U.S., the partners engaged in joint training for insulation and window film installation leading to certifications for YouthBuild students and job opportunities with Saint-Gobain contractors also participating in these projects. In 2015, the partners announced they were expanding their initiative to South Africa. |
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TVET Institutions and Industries in Bangladesh have a goal to enhance employability skills. Research conducted in Bangladesh identifies online TVET-industry collaboration models, proposes various collaboration initiatives, and identifies common problems faced during collaboration. |
Examples of Partnering between Educators and DDT Providers
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Miami Dade College (MDC) and Year Up in U.S. Since 2012, MDC and Year Up have offered an intensive one-year program for college students, ages 18-24, combining professional coaching, hands-on skill development, and internships at local companies. Year Up has similar partnerships in other cities, and has developed a sophisticated model of employer engagement to ensure very high placement rates for graduates. |
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Generation with various colleges in five countries (Kenya, Mexico, Spain, India and United States). Generation brings together employers and educators to train workers for jobs in high-growth areas like technology, healthcare and customer service, and assists them in finding full-time jobs, many of them at top national and regional companies. Nearly 1,000 youth have gone through the U.S. program, adding to the 12,000 graduates globally. |

What are Screening, Assessments and Profiling?
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Screening is the process of evaluating or assessing whether someone is suitable for a specific role or purpose. Schools and training programs often screen applicants based on eligibility criteria set for their program. Employers screen job candidates based on a set of predetermined requirements to identify a smaller group of potential hires. Those selected job seekers are then put through various assessments. |
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Assessments, in education, refers to a wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or education needs of students. For employers, assessments are systematic methods of gathering data, under standardized conditions, with the purpose of reaching a conclusion regarding someone's qualification, competences, motivation, interests and fit for a specific job role. |
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Technical competencies are a set of job-related skills, knowledge and abilities that are necessary in successfully doing the job and delivering results. Behavioral competencies ("soft skills") are a set of behaviors based on values, personal traits (attributes), attitudes, habits and experiences that are necessary for success in the job and in the workplace. |
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Profiling is the recording and analysis of a person's psychological and behavioral characteristics to assess or predict their capabilities in a certain sphere or to assist in identifying a specific subgroup of people. While screening separates people into different groups based on available data, profiling often extrapolates from existing data, and groups people based on inferred characteristics. |
Examples of assessments and screening

What are “SOFT SKILLS”?
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"Soft" skills refer to behaviors, attitudes, and mindsets, such as dependability, flexibility, problem solving, grit and communication skills. |
Researchers and practitioners have tried to systematize various skills into skill frameworks, and to determine which skills (both cognitive and non-cognitive) are the most important predictors of success in school, work and life for young people. They have called these special skills sets "core skills for employability" , "21st century skills" or "transferable skills." Although referred to by different names, most studies agree on the importance of the following skills: |
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Dependability-reliability, hard working, work ethic, character skills |
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Flexibility - adaptability |
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Higher order cognitive skills - problem solving, critical thinking, critical decision making |
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Inter-personal skills - communication, collaboration, teamwork, leadership |
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Intra-personal skills - self-control, future orientation, grit (perseverance) |
Examples of Soft Skills Development Programs

What IS MENTORING?
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Mentoring is a professional relationship between two individuals, the mentor and the mentee, in which the mentor (usually a more experienced person) supports and encourages the personal and professional growth of the mentee (usually a less experienced person). |
Characteristics of a Good Mentor
- Able to commit adequate time, energy and attention to the mentee consistently over time. Enjoys helping others.
- Has patience and empathy for others.
- Has good interpersonal skills.
- Emulates well the values of the organization.
- Performs well in his/her job, enjoys respect.
- Is trusted and maintains good working relationships with others in the organization.
- Willing to share his/her knowledge and experiences, while being able to appreciate differing beliefs, opinions, behavioral styles and habits.
Examples of mentoring programs

What is Work-Based Learning?
Work-Based Learning (WBL) takes place in a real (or simulated) working environment through participation in the work process. It is also referred to as on-the-job training (OJT), employment-based learning, enterprise-based learning, or workplace learning. Workplace-based learning can take various modalities, such as:
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Examples of Work-Based Learning

What is monitoring & evaluation
Monitoring is a continuous process of collecting and analyzing information to determine how well a project or program is performing against expected results.
Evaluation is a systematic and objective assessment of an ongoing or completed project/program to determine its relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and fulfillment of its objectives.
examples of monitoring and evaluating DDT programs
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“Opening Doors: more Guidance – Better Results? Three-year effects of an enhanced student services program at two community colleges,” is a study that examines the impact of the Opening Doors program at Lorain County Community College and Owens Community College in Ohio, Unites States, using a randomized control trial. |
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“Advance Manufacturing Education (AME) Alliance Evaluation: Final Evaluation Report,” is a example of the summarized findings of an evaluation study. |
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Economic Mobility Corporation conducted a multi-year evaluation of the Year Up program in the United States. Their results have been published in a series of reports, including “Sustained Gains: Year Up’s Continued Impact on Young Adults’ Earnings” and “A Promising Start: Year Up’s Initial Impacts on Low-Income Young Adults’ Careers” |
The Team Behind the DDT Toolkit
With support and guidance from the Rockefeller Foundation, Making Cents International
developed this set of tools and resources for youth development stakeholders across the world.
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Dr. Christy Olenik
Project Director
Making Cents International -
Ms. Branka Minic
Lead Researcher and Author
Making Cents International
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Ms. Traci Freeman
South Africa SDO
The Rockefeller Foundation -
Mr. Patrick Karanja
Program Associate
The Rockefeller Foundation -
Yohan Perera
Graphic Designer
TechChange -
Austin Spivey
Instructional Designer
TechChange