LIBRARY RESOURCE

Youth in conflict and post-conflict settings require tailored training opportunities and employment services to hone the vocational and soft skills needed to find and retain jobs. How can we assess the vocational and soft skills needs in a conflict and post-conflict context, often characterized by a stagnant or shrinking economy and unstable political and security framework, to be sure we get the training right? This interactive deep dive will use evidence developed through Creative Associates’ experience in Afghanistan and Child Trends' contributions in Nicaragua as a starting point for an exploration of demand-driven training needs assessments.  

The key role played by sound labor market forecast in the formulation of human resources development programs has been extensively promoted lately. As we engage in building quantitative tools to better understand job markets’ evolution, CIDE suggests we take a step back and rethink the major changes the job market is undergoing at a global scale and its implications on the inclusion of young people. What conclusion can we draw when the economy, while growing, is not producing the jobs that millions of young people are counting on to provide for themselves? How do we deal with spreading non-formal, non-conventional employment?  

While there is broad agreement on the value of behavioral skills as predictors for economic and social success, can these skills really be developed in education and work readiness training programs for youth? What does it take to mimic the kind of mentorship for young people that occurs in well-functioning families, in these programs and in the workplace? How can we better support youth economic opportunities with the integration of evidence-based practices to enhance emotional intelligence? Through a comparative discussion that draws on leading research from the U.S., and examples from our sector, this plenary will examine the impact of emotional intelligence training, and what these findings mean for youth training programs in development settings.

Kepler, based in Rwanda, has built, revised and revamped a competency-based model of education for emerging markets. Three years and two campuses later, Kepler is creating a model of tertiary education that increases access by improving affordability while maintaining quality. While there are many successes to celebrate at Kepler, the organization strives to improve its outcomes for all students. In this session, Kepler aims to bring together a variety of stakeholders in order to discuss how to engage both men and women in improving educational and work outcomes for young women in the developing world. Through an interactive session focused on a Kepler-based problem in practice, participants will leave with a broader network of colleagues, working together towards solutions.