Project background
In Vanuatu, skills shortages are limiting the opportunity for young women and men to find employment and make productive contributions to their economy and community. Limited schooling and a high youth population are leading to low levels of participation in tertiary education and poor job prospects. The formal education system is failing to provide youth with the required skills to prosper in the workforce, and there is insufficient access to opportunities for professional development and training. This is leading to high unemployment and disadvantage.
Project approach
This project addresses the skills gap that disadvantages many young people in Vanuatu. In partnership with Youth Challenge Vanuatu (YCV), Oxfam has delivered job readiness and entrepreneurial training to youth with no or low-level qualifications, providing them with the skills to enable them to go on to entry-level employment, to begin a social or micro-enterprise, or to go on to vocational training. The program aims to provide youth with the confidence, networks and soft skills to succeed in their careers.
Key objectives for the project will be:
- Increased higher education opportunities.
- Increased access to employment.
- Increased youth entrepreneurship and self-employment.
Ultimately, this project aims to improve the welfare and livelihoods of young people in Vanuatu. Empowering them to be active and engaged citizens and strong future leaders.
Project outcomes
Funding from the Footprints Network has contributed towards the following project outcomes:
- 15 young people have graduated from Ready for Business training and all 15 have started small businesses.
- 29 young people have graduated from Ready for Work training and 5 participants have secured full-time employment.
- 31 young people have attended First Steps to Business sessions.
- 16 young people attended Civic Education sessions.
- 47 young people attended job seeking sessions.
- 94 young people completed life skills sessions.
Case study: Meet Florian
Florian (pictured above. Image credit: Artur Fancisco) is a recent graduate of the Ready for Business programme, an eight-week course run by Oxfam partner Youth Challenge Vanuatu. It aims to give young people a pathway into employment or starting their own businesses through equipping them with the resources, confidence and skills they need to thrive. Florian’s entrepreneurial zest and passion for cleaning up the environment perfectly aligned with her new venture – weaving colourful wallets from discarded plastic rubbish.
"It’s been really important for me to actually engage with this programme, to help me to learn more new things, to help my business to grow… Before, I didn’t really know how to price some of my products. But on the course I learned how to do pricing based on the quality and different material used." Says Florian. “When the course ends, Oxfam gives us a grant to start our business. The money is used for business expenses, like paying for the zippers or thread.”
What next?
This project will continue until 2023 and is part of Oxfam’s strategy to reduce structural barriers and inequalities that constrain the opportunities and voice of women, young people and people with disability in Vanuatu.
Project Background
Young women and men need the necessary skills, opportunities and support to become future leaders and drive Vanuatu’s socio-economic advancement. Yet many young people from Vanuatu lack the opportunities and resources to make productive contributions to their economy and community.
Limited schooling opportunities and a large youth population are leading to low levels of participation in tertiary education and poorly paid jobs for the demographic. In urban areas of Vanuatu unemployment levels have reached 35%. This leaves out-of-school youth with two options: to return to their home villages with little prospect of economic advancement or find informal job opportunities in towns.
Skill shortages are widely acknowledged as a key constraint to private sector growth. The formal education system is failing to provide youth with the required skills to prosper in the workforce, and there is limited access to opportunities for professional development and training. This project aims to address this skill gap through job readiness training.
Project Overview
Your support will help fund job readiness and entrepreneurial training, focusing on youth with no or low-level qualifications, providing them with fundamental skills to enable them to go on to entry-level employment, to begin a social or micro-enterprise, or to go on to vocational training. The program aims to provide youth with the confidence, networks and soft skills to succeed in their careers.
Key objectives from the project will be:
- Increased higher education opportunities
- Increased access to employment
- Increased youth entrepreneurship and self-employment
Ultimately, this project aims to improve the welfare and livelihoods of young people in Vanuatu. Empowering them to be active and engaged citizens and strong future leaders.
What's Covered in Project Cost
The funds raised from The Footprints Network will contribute to the overall project. These are just some of the activities which will be made possible with your support:
- Ready for work training for 300 young people
- Ready for business training for 135 young people
- A youth impact project for 80 young people
- Job Seeker Skills training for 288 young people
- Life Skills training for 288 young people
- Computer training for 180 young people
- Careers counselling for 460 young people
- Civic engagement training for 123 young people
- Development of an enterprise mentor network
Partners and Community Involvement
This project works in partnership with Youth Challenge Vanuatu (YCV) a non-government organisation which has provided services to youth in Port Vila since 2001.
Part of a Larger Strategy
Everyone deserves a fair chance to make a living. That’s why much of Oxfam’s work, tackling poverty around the world, is dedicated to strengthening people’s livelihoods.
This project is part of Oxfam’s broader strategy to empower communities in the pacific through sustainable economic development. Your donation will help equip marginalised young women and men with the tools they need to engage in economic activity and contribute confidently to the economic and social development of Vanuatu.