Project profile — Youth Employability Project in Mali (PEJM)

• Mali (100.00%)

• Secondary Education: Vocational training (11330) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The project aims to increase the employability of vulnerable young Malians, especially women and gold washers, by improving technical and vocational training in promising fields of employment. Each year, about 200,000 young Malians join the labour market, and many lack the necessary entry-level qualifications. The project thus seeks to build the capacity of five vocational training centres to provide quality training each year to strengthen the skills of 1,200 vulnerable youth (including 325 women) in the agri-food sector and mining-related trades (automotive mechanics, metal processing and electrical trades). The project also supports youth labour-market entry assistance organizations to enable them to improve governance and service delivery. Project activities are executed in the Bamako, Kayes, Sikasso and Koulikoro regions and include the following: (1) 70 teachers are being trained; (2) eight training programs that use the skills-based approach are being developed and implemented in the agri-food sector and mining-related trades to reflect labour-market needs; (3) a mobile training unit is being set up to upgrade the qualifications of gold washers or to steer them toward related trades; (4) 100 young people (including 30 women) are being helped to create micro-businesses, via financial support and consulting services for new entrepreneurs; (5) labour-market entry assistance organizations are establishing and strengthening youth job search services and business internships.

The expected outcomes for this project include: 1) Increased availability of vocational skills training accessible to vulnerable young men and women in Mali, meeting labour market needs in the agri-food sector and in occupations related to the mining sector; 2) Increased access by vulnerable young men and women in Mali to vocational training programmes provided by competent trainers capable of providing education that meets the specific needs of this clientele; 3) Increased capacity of vocational integration support organizations and vocational training centres to support vulnerable young men and women in Mali in their integration into the labour market.

Results achieved as of May 2018 include: 1) 103 teachers were trained in educational techniques, teaching skills, and cross-disciplinary skills; 2) five needs analyses, qualifying vocational training promotion and validation strategies were conducted; and 3) three vocational training program sector analyses were conducted. These results helped to increase the offer of qualifying vocational training that is accessible to vulnerable youth in Mali and meets labour market needs in the agri-food and mining trades sectors. They also increased population’s access to vocational training programs delivered by skilled trainers who can meet the specific needs of that clientele. These results are contributing to improving the employability of young women and men through better access to quality vocational training services.

• Proactive disclosure