Plan International commits to skilling up 1.5 million young people

Global child rights organization Plan International united with AIESEC International, the Asian Development Bank, and many other organisations in skilling up young people in all their diversities with market-relevant, technical, soft, and digital skills to access decent work opportunities by 2030 through the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth.

Launched in 2016, the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth is a global initiative by the ILO to scale up action and impact on youth employment under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It aims to leverage multi-stakeholder partnerships in order to facilitate increased impact and action on youth employment challenges.

As a partner of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, Plan International obtains access to expertise, networks and best practices from a global alliance committed to creating decent jobs for young people; gains global recognition for the alignment of its youth employment initiatives with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and widens the scope and impact of its own programs through linkages at country and regional levels.

“Young people everywhere must be given a fighting chance to succeed in today’s society,” said John Barrett Trew, the Global Head of Plan International’s Area of Global Distinctiveness on Skills and Opportunities for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship (SOYEE). “This new partnership between Plan International, [the] Decent Jobs for Youth Initiative and the ILO will bring renewed focus to the power that decent jobs have in lifting young women and men out of poverty.  Unleashing a young person’s full potential through decent work remains one of the world’s most underutilized tools to addressing global poverty.”

Through this strengthened coalition, Plan International will focus on the following: digital skills for youth, transition to the formal economy, and youth entrepreneurship and self-employment.

Moving forward, Plan International will pursue demand-driven skills development initiatives, strategic partnerships and evidence-based advocacy to drive policy and practice changes; leverage technology to reach vulnerable and marginalized youth, especially young women; and contribute to building a youth workforce equipped with the skills to access decent work in all contexts through collaborations with partners and other stakeholders.

Plan International’s commitment to the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth was featured and announced at the Youth Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment (YES) Forum of the World Export Development Forum 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Miranda Atty, Press Officer (London, UK), +44 (0)7944 301 139

Decent Jobs for Youth I decentjobsforyouth@ilo.org

About Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years and are now active in more than 75 countries.

About Decent Jobs for Youth

Decent Jobs for Youth was launched in 2016 as a UN system-wide effort, focusing on the youth employment challenge that is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It has emerged as a global, multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together governments, social partners, the private sector, youth and civil society organizations, and others. They work together to share knowledge, leverage resources and take action at country and regional level, to support young people in accessing decent work and productive employment worldwide.