FINAL PRESENTATION:

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

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Why focus on youth?

Around the world, youth are struggling to find work. And although the reasons are well knownpoor education, poor governance, poor economiesthe problem is only growing. In both developed and developing countries, youth-centric solutions are scarce.

Why is this true?

For many, whether they be policy makers or potential employers, unemployment is seen an adult problem. Adults have families, homes, financial burdens. Youth, those between 15 and 24 years of age, have seemingly fewer responsibilities, fewer dependents, and fewer skills. This makes them easier dismisswhether from a single job, or from the larger political conversation. And that dismissal is only increasing Between 2008 and 2009, when the global economic crisis was at its peak, the number of unemployed youth increased by an unprecedented 4.5 millionstriking when compared with pre-crisis numbers of 100,000 youth per year. By the end of 2010, there were an estimated 75.1 million young people in the world struggling to find work 4.6 million more than in 2007. And currently, youth are three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. This represents a waste of not only of a generation, but of an enormous human resource.

Youth are at a critical inflection point in their lives. They are the midst of a highly transitional period, one that influences a young persons worldview and that actively shapes who they will become. Youth are open to change, comfortable with risk, and intimately connected to their creativity and ambition. They are filled with eagerness and energy, and they are ready to work. What happens to youth without employment, without an outlet to this energy? What are the possibilities for those whom education was never an option ? As increasingly despondent and disenfranchised youth let their frustration show from Egypt to Tunisia to the United States, the world is beginning to find out. The youth of today will define the tenor, capacity, and capabilities of our future workforce. They will come to define the success of our economies and the well-being of our world. So to gain global stability, the issue of youth employment must become a priority for all governments. Old problems must be reframed, and new perspectives sought. So how might the Rockefeller Foundation start to solve for this crisis? How might we put the worlds next generations to work?

India
One of the densest countries on the planet and home to 20% of the worlds total youth population

Tanzania
A weak agriculturally-based economy experiencing rapid + urbanization

Old Problems, Reframed

We were inspired by the people we met and the places we explored within our research. These firsthand experiences gave us new perspectives on issues within youth employment, and led us to reframe three big problems:
1. Information Access 2. Small Business Growth 3. Employment Readiness

PROBLEM 1:

Information Access
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Problem 1: Information Access

Existing Problem
There are more people than jobs.

Current Approach
Create more jobs or create more skilled employees for a competitive market.

Problem 1: Information Access

What we learned
When I came to Mumbai my only option was to get a job in a restaurant because thats where everyone from Bangalore worked. Krishna When I came to Dar my much more expensive and difficult than I expected. Martin, driver

Once young people see that they can really increase their income through better farming practices, they no longer feel they need to go to the city. Nicoleta, SwissContact
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People who go to the city and return to the village tend to be risk-takers and early adopters.

Urban jobs for rural migrants are often unstable. Most people find work but it is intermittent and inconsistent, and life is more expensive. 9

Problem 1: Information Access

Age: 30 Occupation: Driver Aspiration: Provide for his children so they can be educated

Martin
At fourteen Martin left school and began to farm full time on his familys land. He grew and sold enough maize to open a small shop, and made just enough money to set out for Dar and find a higher paying job as a driver. But the dream of a better life proved to still be a long way off. He had a hard time finding a job and for two months he found himself homeless, living in a bus station and off of his savings. After Martin located his sister, he found a driving school, but getting a license was much more expensive and difficult than he expected. He When I came to Dar I didnt know stuck to it and earned his license but could only find part time, piecemeal where to start. I couldnt find my work as a helper on Pepsi delivery sister and I couldnt find work. I trucks. Finally, many years later, ended up sleeping in a bus station he has saved enough to rent a taxi from a friend and pay for the parking for two months. space outside of the Kempinski hotel where he waits for customers. Now 32, Martin makes enough to support his wife and two young kids who live with him in Dar es Salaam.

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Problem 1: Information Access

Age: 24 Occupation: Farmer Aspiration: Ramp up his farming business

Zakii
Zakii grew up in a village in northern India. Moradabad was the closest big city, so he decided to migrate there when he was 21 despite the warning of his friends that the jobs most migrants found were dangerous and unstable. Once in the city, it took him awhile to find a job, and coping with urban expenses was difficult. When he finally found employment it lasted only for a few months because the factory he worked at shut down after a fire. After a few weeks without finding another job, he decided to go back home.

City life is unpredictable. Its good when you have a job, but its one of the worst experiences when you dont.

Going back to the village meant going back to the farm. Zakii became an early adopter of new farming technology that made his farm much more productive. Farming is the best job, he says. You work for yourself, you provide food to your family, and, if you have the right tools, you can make more money. Now, Zakii encourages his neighbors to stay in the village and increase farm productivity through better practices. He is looking forward to expanding his farm and his business.

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Problem 1: Information Access

Youth believe that better and more diverse employment options exist in the city. But how available are those opportunities for migrants? Rural youth are migrating despite very limited employment leads and personal connections in the city. What if young rural migrators were able to clearly see what options awaited them in the city? Rural youth who choose to move to the city are often risk takers with bigger ambitions What if these young people are tomorrows entrepreneurs?

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What if?

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Imagine creating a job navigator, a platform where employment information is readily accessible to potential young migrants.

From

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JOB FORCASTING BOARD

Young migrators are preparing to leave for cities with information that is obscured and unreliable.

Enable migrators to better plan ahead by including current and projected job postings. Expand their natural social and professional networks by providing updated and accurate, information about job availability.

Imagine fostering returning leaders, leveraging the skills of reverse migrants and supporting them to create diverse opportunities within their rural villages.

From

To

Young migrators often move to the city alone, leaving social safety nets behind. Many would return to the village if they had alternative employment options or ways of increasing their income on the farm.

Create more diverse and desirable options in rural areas by encouraging returning migrants to become business leaders within rural communities. Leverage qualities and skills and support them through entrepreneurship centers and advisory services.

Problem 1: Information Access

Analogous Inspiration
BABAJOBS Connects informal workers with possible employers in India through an online and mobile platform BLOOMBERG Uses financial software to predict stock market performance

MEBTI Provides training and advice to rural entrepreneurs

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LINKED IN Connects employers to job candidates and allows individuals to build employment profiles

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION Helps migrants to integrate into new communities and facilitates voluntary returns 16

Problem 1: Information Access

So, the traditional framing....

Existing Problem
There are more people than jobs.

Current Approach
Create more jobs or create more skilled employees for competitive market

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Reframed:

Markets are inefficient in their ability to connect and reveal opportunities.

So instead, focus on connecting migrants to better information around existing job opportunities.
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Theory of Change

Ambitious young people facing bleak prospects in the village will often seek opportunities in cities more readily than older people with dependent families. Yet employment opportunities for these young job seekers are largely disconnected, leading to flows of misguided migrants. By revealing more reliable and actionable information about employment, migrating youth have better job options and the labor market runs more efficiently.
Youth constitute a significant part of all migrants Indian data suggest that 29.9% of all rural-urban migrants are between 15 and 25 years old. - United Nations Development Programme, 2009 Rural-Urban migration will still be dramatic in the future Urban population will increase by 2 billion people and one of the main driving forces will be rural urban migration - Committee on Populations, National Research Council, 2006

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Problem 1: Information Access

This reframe helps us think about the problem of information access within a larger system.

migrants.
Additional Problems
Overpopulation in cities, stress on infrastructure, urban poverty What types of employment information (e.g. location, pay, qualifications) are missing for migrants and other job seekers? What are innovative and effective platforms for this kind of information sharing? What are the most important, effective and used modes of communication among young migrators? Beyond information, what other resources do youth need in order to take advantage of unrevealed opportunities? What incentives do employers have to contribute to this initiative? How might the quality and accuracy of information be ensured?

Depletion of manpower and resources from opportunities rural areas Loss of social safety nets in urban areas

Employment

Housing scarcity/quality of housing for newly arrived migrants Additional transition challenges

and vulnerable job seekers Cash flow issues of migrant workers are largely

Learning Questions

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Problem 1: Information Access

Organizations
Highlighted below are organizations that create digital, mobile, and/or analog platforms for connecting people to jobs, use geographic reference points to organize information, leverage social meda to increase access to information, or forecast data. Also included are organizations that sell or provide rural technology and business incubation.

BABAJOBS Connects job seekers with potential employers in the informal sector in India through an online platform

USHAHIDI Collects open source information and displays real time data geographically and visually

CAROLINA FOR KIBERA Acts as an employment agency for people living in Kibera, connecting them with job opportunities

MEBTI Supports rural entrepreneurs with training, resources, and advice to launch businesses

TECHNOSERVE Helps turn farms into businesses by improving practices and connecting farmers to markets to increase profitability

NFTE Runs entrepreneurship programs with youth and helps them identify business opportunities

GOOGLE Uses information available through their online platforms to predict patterns such as flu trends

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION F O R M I G R AT I O N Facilitates flow of migrants and voluntary returns

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PROBLEM 2:

Small Business Growth

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Problem 2: Small Business Growth

Existing Problem
Small businesses are not as productive as they could be and are not growing as a result.

Current Approach
Create access to capital so businesses can invest in needed assets through debt or long savings periods.

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Problem 1: Employment Access

What we learned
They donated this sophisticated woodworking machinery to the center. We cant envision when these boys would have access to this eqiupment in the future, so we dont train them how to use it. Joe, Dogodogo Centre The laundry workers at Dhobi Ghat. Mumbais largest open air laundry share their facilities with over 200 families.

A significant amount of space in the slum of Dharavi is used for production. Roofs are centers of industry, full of workers drying plastics, dying fabric and collecting metal.
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The skills to shoot and edit video are pretty basic, but the hardest thing about getting into film production is the cost of the equipment. And equipment becomes obsolete really fast. - Irene, Get Real Training

Kids have ideas but they dont have access to anything to help them grow. - Chen, MEBTI 24

Problem 2: Small Business Growth

Age: 34 Occupation: Driver Aspiration: To own his own transportation business

Ram
Ram is a dedicated driver and a loving father often stretched thin by financial challenges. He is originally from rural India, a place more than eight hours away from Delhi. When he was 16, his brother invited him to come to the city so he could train him as a driver. Now 34, being a driver is the only profession he has ever had. In India, being a driver can be tough. It is a relatively unskilled job and competition is high, so taxi car owners take advantage by seizing nearly all profits. Not surprisingly, Owning a taxi would let me earn Ram longs to have his own car. Id more money, but saving for it takes like to buy a taxi, he says. But school for my kids is first. much time. And he manages to send them to private school. Education is most important, Ram says. So for me to buy a taxi will take many, many years, maybe even in my next life.

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Problem 2: Small Business Growth

Age: 24 Occupation: Varied (photographer, tour guide, DJ) Aspiration: Work on a ship to be able to see the world, or a government job

Shaker
Shaker is a man of many talents who has managed to have a world of experiences without needing to leave Mumbai. His friendliness, curiosity, and mastery of English has made him fast friends with many who arrive in India as tourists.

It took me a really long time to save up, but the day I bought my first camera was the best day of my life. I actually cried.

He works part time as a tour guide in the slums of Dharavi (where he also lives), DJs occasionally at clubs, and picks up freelance work as a photographer and a photographers assistant, including working with The New York Times. He is entirely self-taught. Tourists would ask me to take photos of them, he explains. So thats how I learned how to use a camera: one photo at a time. After several years of saving, he now owns his own. Despite his passion for photography, Shaker says he does not consider it a viable course of employment because it requires significant investment and lacks community and stability. And right now, he says, Im focused on saving up for my sisters dowry.

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Problem 2: Small Business Growth

Vulnerable youth are risky choices for banks, and the amount of time it takes to save for assets is lengthy if not entirely prohibitive. What could youth do if they had access to assets without taking on debt? Underused assets are everywhere. What if these assets could be leveraged to increase business opportunities for youth?

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What if?

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Imagine pooling resources to create collaborative assets, enabling vulnerable youth to become productive faster.

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To

ASSET ACQUIRED

ASSET ACQUIRED

If youth currently have to save for a long time to own a productive asset, how might we evolve the idea of collective consumption to include shared assets and collective production?

By sharing collective assets and using them on lending or rental basis, we can shorten the timeframe for a young person to become more productive, self-employed, or an entrepreneur.

Imagine giving youth rights to community assets and challenging them to launch businesses creatively.

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To

Cities claim to be centers of efficiency, but there are many spaces within cities that go underused. At the same time, vulnerable youth have very limited access to productive spaces and assets. How might cities and communities, reimagined, become allies of youth employment?

Designate space for youth to design their own businesses. Create programs that allow youth to reimagine and transform underutilized spaces into places of income generation. Provide youth with legitimized revenue streams by granting them rights to work as self-employed entities (e.g. concession sales, waste picking) within existing spaces.

Imagine mobilzing diverse assets amongst villages, increasing productivity and business opportunities for youth.

From

To

Villages are limited by their small scale and undiverse economies. Large distances and limited transportation options often make travel between villages prohibitive for collaboration and trade.

To shorten the distance, put productive assets on wheels. Create mobile resource centers that travel along a designated route, providing villagers access to tools and technologies that can be shared or rented through lending programs. By making the assets mobile and serving many villages at once, the population density needed to make this is a sustainable business model is achieved.

Problem 2: Small Business Growth

Analogous Inspiration
MOBILE COMPUTER LAB Gives computer lessons in a truck equipped with computers and satellite connection DHOBI GHAT Washes clothes in an open laundry space. It employs about 200 families. The space was a grant by the British government to wash the soldiers clothes

TECHSHOP Gives access to industrial tools and equipment to its members

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GLOBAL VILLAGE CONSTRUCTION SET Allows the fabrication of 50 different industrial machines with the same initial parts

TRACTOR SHARE Empowers farmers in developing nations bylending tools for increased productivity 32

Problem 2: Small Business Growth

So, the traditional framing....

Existing Problem
Small businesses are not as productive as they could be and are not growing as a result.

Current Approach
Create access to capital so businesses can invest in needed assets through debt or long savings periods.

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Reframed:

Youth cant build and grow small businesses because they dont have the money neeeded to invest in productive assets--and they are risky investments for banks.

So instead of focusing on capital, provide less costly and more immediate access to assets.
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Theory of Change

Healthy economies thrive on the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurial venturesbut both need productive assets and creative people behind them in order to grow. Young people often have that kind latent creativity, drive, and talent, but have no access to productive assets. And acquiring those assets can be a challenge, as youth are both risky investments for banks and impatient when it comes to saving. Designing new avenues for young people to gain rights, acquire assets, and use spaces allow youth to both start new businesses as well as help existing small businesses to grow and thrive.
Traditional solutions are expensive and out of reach of youth Microfinance rates vary from country to country, on average they are above 35% - Consultative Group to Assist the Poor Underutilized assets abound Italy went through an exercise identifying underutilized public assets. Even when half of the municipalities failed to provide necessary information, the value of the assets was about 30% of Italys GDP.
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International Monetary Fund Working Paper, 2000

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Problem 2: Small Business Growth

This reframe helps us think about the problem of small business growth within a larger system.

Additional Problems
Social disconnection within and amongst communities Lack of access to other types of resources (health, food, energy, sanitation) Lack of economic diversity in rural areas Mistrust between youth and public/business and government Rural isolation: villages unconnected to markets and other villages

migrants.

Learning Questions
What assets are generally underutilized with a single owner? What assets are technically and economically feasible to share/to own collectively? What assets are most desired and useful for youth entrepreneurs? What are innovative ownership structures for shared asset consumption? How can youth be mobilized to build businesses and take advantage of assets? What other support (e.g. training, advice) could be coupled with assets to create sustainable businesses?

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Problem 2: Small Business Growth

Organizations
Highlighted below are organizations that public concessions to encourage sustainable businesses that share assets or facilitate the sharing of assets in both urban or rural areas.

MAP KIBERA With help of the community they map the largest slum in Africa

KOUNKUEY DESIGN Transforms impoverished communities by building productive public spaces

USHIRIKA USAFI LAINIKIBERA Runs a community kitchen in the largest slum in Kenya

ZOOM TANZANIA Allows people to rent their assets through an online platform

D R E A M C AT C H E R S Empowers youth to start social enterprises

RUDI Facilitates farmers to coown warehouse facilities

JUMA VENTURES Connects youth with social enterprises that place youth in income generation activities

TRACTOR SHARE Lends equipment to farmers in Mexico and the Caribbean

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PROBLEM 3:

Employment Readiness
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Problem 3: Employment Readiness

Existing Problem
Formal education is not producing youth with foundational skills like confidence, teamwork, and critical problem solving--skills that employers need.

Current Approach
Focus on fixing the formal education system to deliver foundational skills.

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Problem 3: Employment Readiness

What we learned
Employers occassionally recognize students from informal schools, although this tends to happen on a very ad hoc basis. School replaces critical thinking with memorization. In the end, it really does more harm to these kids than good. Ravi, director of Manzil

In ten years, schools as we know them may be obsolete. Sonali, Youth Ventures
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I was trained as a teacher, but when I graduated from university I learned very quickly that I should take any job I could get. Pancrasia, program officer at CAMFED Tanzania

Schools are not producing candidates with life skills, and really that is what we desire more than anything. Sumit, HR director at Godrej 40

Problem 3: Employment Readiness

Age: 22 Occupation: Admin Assistant + NGO Founder Aspiration: Build her social enterprise to impact more women

Khushboo
As a child, Khushboo was abandoned by her family at a boarding school in Gujarat. At 12, she renounced her fathers tuition and chose to become a ward of the state. Now she runs her own non-profit to help other young women coming out of orphanages enter into the mainstream. These girls have a really hard time of it after living in an institution for so long, she says. Some of these girls dont even know how to use money, and they certainly dont know how to go about finding a job.

At school you only get one side of the coin. At Youth Venture we learn things you cant learn in the classroom.

Khusboo herself wants to study but the pressures of working and going to school forced her to drop out of university. She still thinks school is important but wants the her life and work experience to count, too.

Young people arent getting the exposure they need, she says. At school you only get one side of the coin. But at [the afterschool program] Youth Venture, we learn to identify our passion. We learn that everyone has a talent. We learn compassion, empathy, those kinds of things. And those are the things that I use in my own work every day.

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Problem 3: Employment Readiness

Age: 17 Occupation: Tour Guide + Student Aspiration: To get a government job or run his own business

Akshay
Akshay is a seventeen-year-old with the savviness, charm and wisdom of a much older man. He has an obvious independent streak and speaks frankly about being poor. As a kid he attended boarding school and had little to live off of, so he polished other students shoes for money. It was embarassing because I was working like this in a nice school, he said. But it taught me how to be independent, and showed me I could make it on my own. He also found a music teacher and a soccer coach at school that he saw as mentors. They taught The most important things me how to be confident, he says. I I learned at boarding school were was eager to graduate. They told me things I taught myself. that once you go through those gates, thats when real life starts. Due to ongoing issues with his father, Akshay ran away from home and now lives alone in the slum of Dharavi, supporting himself. He is currently enrolled in university but has dropped out several times because of lack of money. I know English, though, he said. So I should be able to find a good job even without a degree.

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Problem 3: Employment Readiness

Youth are often finding formal education doesnt teach them what they need to gain employment. What if formal education isnt the answer? Some youth are gaining foundational skills through indirect experiences and informal institutions. What if employers knew how to find and hire these young people?

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What if?

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Imagine designing a new employment standard, a system where foundational skills are recognized and lead to employment.

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Today, despite the fact that the formal education system is not producing candidates with solid foundational skills, the diploma still acts as a proxy for employability. Formal schools are expected to create employable citizens, but they are graduating youth without the right skills.

Create an employability system that shares vocabulary around acquiring, measuring, and recognizing foundational skills in the labor market.

Problem 3: Employment Readiness

Analogous Inspiration
KARATE BELT SYSTEM Uses multiple informal and independent schools to teach and gauge skills worldwide G.E.D. Grants degrees equivalent to high school education

BOY SCOUTS Uses a badge system to signal the members skills and coordinates local chapters at a national level
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SLOW FOOD Coordinates efforts among organizations in the food industry at a global level to preserve and promote traditional cuisine

YELP Uses peoples reviews to evaluate local businesses 46

Problem 3: Employment Readiness

So, the traditional framing....

Existing Problem
Formal education is not producing youth with foundational skills like confidence, teamwork, and critical problem solving--skills that employers need.

Current Approach
Focus on fixing the formal education system to deliver foundational skills..

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Reframed:

Foundational skills are being developed, but it is happening outside the formal structure and at a small scale.

So instead increase access, capacity and recognition around foundational skills outside of formal education.
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Theory of Change

Employers need employees with solid foundational skills. Some resourceful youth are finding these skills through programs, experiences, and institutions outside of the formal education system. By developing a common vocabulary to recognize and measure foundational skills, and increasing the capacity of informal institutions to provide them, many more vulnerable youth will have access to a broader range of employment options.

For many youths, education does not mean employability 90% general college graduates cannot find a job in India - National Association of Software and Service Companies (India), 2009 Most employers are looking for foundational skills All employers are looking for the same soft skills, whereas professional skills vary among sectors - The World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 2011

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Problem 3: Employment Readiness

This reframe helps us think about the problem of employment readiness within a larger system.

migrants.

Additional Problems
Employers lack robust pool of qualified candidates Employers dont know much about potential candidates Judgment and class divide that exists between employers and vulnerable youth The formal school system is overburdened Informal institutions lack coordination, capacity, and possibly cooperation

Learning Questions
How can informal institutions participate collectively in linking foundational skills with employment? What is the range/reach of successful informal institutions that provide solid foundational skills? What are the ways that employers could recognize skills acquired outside of formal education? What are the best channels to communicate the importance of foundational skills to youth? What are innovative models of standards/ certification that are recognized as high quality?

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Problem 3: Employment Readiness

Organizations
Below are organizations that build foundational skills, develop or implement educational standards and certification, and develop and/or facilitate rating systems

MANZIL Informal school that teaches foundational skills, English, and computer skills to marginalized youth

VIDYA AND CHILD Uses art, media, exposure and peer support as a way to teach foundational skills in youth

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH F O U N D AT I O N A L Implements innovative education models globally

EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYMENT Teaches foundational and vocational skills in youth Connects youth to employment opportunities

ASPIRINGMINDS Tests youths skills and shares the results with employers that use them for recruitment

B U R R P . C OM Provides a online platform to evaluate products, services and establishments

BOY AND GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA Builds foundational skills in youth and gauges them through a badge system

AMERICAN COUNCIL ON E D U C AT I O N Develops the GED tests, which certify high-school academic level

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Three Reframed Opportunities 1. Connect young migrants to better information around job opportunities 2. Create less costly and more immediate access to productive assets for youth 3. Increase access, capacity, and recognition around foundational skills outside of formal education
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Thank you

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