Oxfam IBIS has made a commitment to Decent Jobs for Youth to improve economic opportunities for young women and men in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. They aim to do this principally through the Youth Participation and Employment (YPE) programme, a five-year initiative implemented by Oxfam IBIS (Denmark) and funded by the Danish Arab Partnership program.

The YPE programme builds diverse and effective partnerships to strengthen technical and job relevant skills for young people, increase organisational capacity of institutions, the private sector, entrepreneurs and communities to support youth, and enhanced dialogue between youth, public and private institutions, and businesses.  Young people will be supported through vocational and professional skills training, including both job-oriented as well as soft skills.  Youth startups and innovation will be supported through entrepreneurial coaching sessions, seed funding and networking opportunities, among other things.  The programme will also help partners encourage inclusive youth participation through providing networking opportunities for youth, facilitating contact between employers and job seekers, promoting decent work through internship and matchmaking, and identifying relevant employers.

“Youth participation, gender justice and addressing inequalities in the labor market are essential factors for facilitating ​decent jobs. The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs is playing a great role in capturing learning from different partners about various building blocks and sharing," says Shekhar Anand, Learning and Knowledge Management Advisor, YPE.

“For Ibis, it is an important blueprint and acknowledgement of the work we do to create decent work for young people in the Middle East. The partnership also provides YPE access to new tools and information, as well as access to a broad network of actors who, like us, aim to create decent jobs. Finally, knowledge of YPE's work is strengthened through ​the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth," says Morten Gøbel Poulsen, Team Lead. 

The commitment by Oxfam IBIS will boost action and impact on Digital Skills for Youth, Quality Apprenticeships and Youth Entrepreneurship and Self-employment. Their commitment is supported by various public and private partners, highlighting the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder partnerships in scaling up action and impact on youth employment.  

The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

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.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Shekhar Anand, Senior Advisor, Learning & Knowledge management I sha@oxfamibis.dk

Mr. Ahmed El Assal, Senior Advisor, Partner Capacity Building I aelassal@oxfam.org.uk

Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth I decentjobsforyouth@ilo.org