USAID Selects EDC to Prepare Young People for Jobs in Djibouti

WALTHAM, MA | The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has selected EDC to lead a $24.5 million, five-year workforce development program in the Republic of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. EDC will work with several partners to reduce unemployment in Djibouti, which is estimated at nearly 60 percent.

Working with partners Cardno Emerging Markets, Souktel, and TakingITGlobal!, EDC will focus on preparing youth with skills and training based on the needs of local businesses and industries. The project’s goal is to reach between 30,000 and 40,000 young adults with job training, work-based learning opportunities, and employment center services.

An EDC-led consortium will focus on strengthening the links between technical and vocational education and training (TVET) providers and private sector businesses by:

• Improving communication and collaboration
• Updating education and training curriculum
• Providing work-based learning, counseling, and job placement
• Monitoring, evaluating, and strengthening the program

“We are thankful to USAID and excited to apply our long experience in workforce development to this new initiative,” said EDC’s Erik Butler. “Having worked in the region for many years on preparing youth for productive livelihoods, we are enormously pleased to expand our efforts to Djibouti.”

The project will include development of an online platform to establish referral networks, serve as a clearing house of employment information, facilitate counseling, job-matching, and referrals, and provide a space for youth to create employee profiles to match with private sector jobs.

EDC designs, implements, and evaluates programs to improve education, health, and economic opportunity worldwide. Visit www.edc.org.