Solutions
Discover 20 initiatives that are helping young people transition to work and engaged citizenship.
Generation Unlimited has identified a set of solutions that bridge secondary-age education and training to employment and entrepreneurship, and equip young people to succeed in a changing world.
We have worked with a wide range of external experts to select initiatives with potential for larger and sustained results for young people, and will integrate the solutions into country-level investment agendas as the Generation Unlimited strategy evolves.
Alternative Learning Programme
A community-based programme in Bangladesh that provides alternative opportunities for disadvantaged and out-of-school adolescents to learn skills. Participants get six months of on-the-job theory and skills training in selected trades and occupations. Since 2012, almost 30,000 vulnerable young people have benefitted.
Educate!
Equips young people in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda with the skills to succeed in today’s economy. Educate! addresses youth unemployment by reforming what schools teach and how they teach it, so that students have the skills to start businesses, get a job and drive development in their communities. Read more.
Generation
A youth employment non-profit bridging the gap between training and jobs. Its goal is to deliver high employment and job retention rates, as well as a tangible return on investment for learners and employers. More than 70 per cent of graduates enter jobs after completing the programme. Read more.
Life Skills Education
Provides life skills training and psychosocial support for young people affected by conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The curriculum focuses on the concept of “learning to live together”, developing values and key life skills to build interpersonal and inter-group relations. Training has been integrated into the curriculum and scaled up nationally to benefit 300,000 adolescents.
Out of School Youth
Supports out-of-school children in the Timbuktu region of southern/central Mali with literacy, entrepreneurship and technical training. The program helps young people to become self-employed or strengthen their existing ways of generating income. Read more.
SmartUp Factory
Provides skills training and mentorship to poor and marginalised young women and men so they can create innovative solutions to day-to-day challenges. The project encourages entrepreneurship, employment, volunteering and community leadership. Read more.
Special Olympics Unified Schools
Promotes social inclusion by bringing together young people with and without disabilities in sports teams, student clubs and youth leadership initiatives. Unified Schools use sports as a catalyst for social inclusion and attitudinal and behavioural change. Read more.
Systems Change for Youth Employment
Brings together public and private sector training providers to address the skills gap for young people, support more qualified candidates for jobs and provide more relevant information. International Youth Foundation implements the programme with partners in Mexico, South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania.
TechnoGirl
A mentorship and job-shadowing programme for young girls from underprivileged schools in South Africa studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Some 11,000 girls have benefited from the programme and more than 100 partner companies have hosted 6,000 job-shadowing opportunities. Read more.
UPSHIFT
Empowers disadvantaged young people to become social innovators and entrepreneurs. Capacity building workshops teach personal empowerment, workforce readiness and active citizenship skills. Tens of thousands of young people have developed initiatives that have been scaled up in Kosovo, Montenegro, Vietnam and Jordan. Read more.
YES! Digital
An innovative tool that allows marginalised young people to develop their skills and employability through online courses. The programmes help to close skills gaps, build confidence and vocational skills, and create a network of alumni who can help each other thrive in the world of work. Read more.
Youth Connekt
A platform to connect innovative young people in Africa and help them contribute to their countries’ inclusive economic transformation. The platform serves as a channel for youth, private sector and government to address youth unemployment, entrepreneurship and empowerment. Read more.
Youth Leadership Programme
Develops a generation of young leaders, innovators and change-makers in the Arab region. The programme strengthens youth skills in leadership, social innovation, entrepreneurship, digital technologies and the Sustainable Development Goals, while providing a regional platform for information and knowledge sharing. Read more.
Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT)
A specialized learning programme that allows rural young people to continue working as they learn. SAT employs a learn-by-doing methodology that includes interactive workbooks and lessons guided by trained tutors. The curricula focus on teaching capabilities rather than subjects. Read more.
Technology-Based Rural Schools
Expands access to secondary education for adolescents living in remote communities. The programme reduces the digital divide, connecting rural classrooms via the internet to hub schools in urban areas. Teaching and learning strategies are supported daily and certificates are recognised by national authorities. Read more (in Spanish).
Free Being Me
Builds girls’ self-esteem and body confidence through fun and interactive activities, and by empowering participants to act through advocacy. Girls Guides and Girls Scouts have supported the programme to reach 125 countries with materials translated into 18 languages. Read more.
Meena Manch and Gargi Manch
Secondary school clubs providing information, life skills and support to help girls improve and complete their education. The programme has already helped 380,000 girls in India to build confidence, motivate their academic achievement and improve institutional responses to violence and harassment. Read more.
Strengthening Social Cohesion with Community Centres
Creates community centres to improve social cohesion and peaceful coexistence between Syrian refugees and Turkish host communities. So far, 100,000 young people have been reached. Read more.
Youth Initiative Fund
Promotes social inclusion by helping displaced young people to design, implement and monitor community-based protection projects. Led by UNHCR, it also builds institutional capacity in youth programming by raising awareness, collecting data and sharing best practices.
Youth Media Programmes
Empowering young people through four programmes: a reality TV show where youth propose solutions to social issues; a women’s empowerment boot camp; a weekly radio show produced by young people for young people; and U-Report, a free SMS and social media platform that surveys the voices and views of youth. Read more (in French).