Youth Employment Programs - Independent Evaluation Group

projects since FY11 with objectives linked to job creation and 18 projectsaimed specifically at youth employment.IFC’s engagement in skills development and education for youth focuses onthe post-secondary level. The goal is to develop youth skills that are relevantto employer needs, and to facilitate the engagement of youth with companiesfor training and employment opportunities. IFC work in this area falls underthe following programs and activities:a. Technical Vocational Education and Training Programs and Tertiary EducationProjects—IFC’s work program in the education sector targets youth andemployability, whether directly, as evidenced by 90 percent of our investmentsin higher education; or indirectly, mainly through investments insecondary education.b. e4e Initiative for Arab Youth (e4e)—This program was launched in 2010-2011 in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to helprestructure education systems and strengthen linkages with employers toensure better employment opportunities for youth.c. Entrepreneurship and Employee Skills Building Advisory Work—IFC has twokey products in this area: Business Edge and Small and Medium Enterprise(SME) Toolkit. IFC has also a specialized program called Farmer andSME Training (FAST).In FY2012, IFC updated its strategy for education with the objective of prioritizingefforts to increase impact in the sector. The new strategy explicitlystates that IFC will continue to focus on improving access to high qualityand affordable education, especially at the levels that directly lead to youthemployment. IFC’s strategy is aligned with the World Bank Group’s EducationStrategy 2020 as it supports private providers that can step in to fill gaps ineducation systems. The thrust of IFC’s education strategy is defined by threemain strategic directions: (i) financing education service providers with a focuson quality and scalable business models, especially those directly linked toemployability; (ii) bringing together key stakeholders involved in strengtheningeducation systems, and continuing to build thought leadership by sharingknowledge about successful business models and by contributing to createenabling environments for private education in partnership with the WorldBank; (iii) testing innovative business models, both in service delivery and inother subsectors of the education market, to push the frontier of the sectorand find solutions to the challenges of access, quality and relevance.IFC also recognizes that SMEs are a very important component of employmentand job creation in most developing countries. They account for over 80 percentof net job creation and 67 percent of employment in developing countries.Extending finance to a broader group of companies and SMEs is associatedwith greater growth and poverty reduction and leads to a more inclusivebusiness environment. Thus, providing finance and advice to help the SMEsector is an important part of IFC’s activities that provide youth employment.Management Response xxiii