SOS Children's Villages to Help Disadvantaged Youth Enter Job Market
Jakarta. International non-profit organization SOS Children's Villages launched the "Youth Can!" project at the Harper Hotel in East Jakarta on Monday (08/05) in a bid to reduce youth unemployment in Indonesia.
The initiative stemmed from a global problem facing today's young generation. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 40 percent of the world's unemployed are aged 15-24.
"In Indonesia, 43 percent of the population is under 25, but the country is still struggling very hard in terms of its youth's employment rate," Youth and Sports Ministry head of international youth partnership Mihran Tabrani said during the program's launching ceremony.
The worrying issue has inspired SOS Children's Villages to organize "Youth Can!" — a series of mentorship and training programs for young people in transition from school to independent life, focusing on disadvantaged youth.
By "disadvantaged," SOS Children's Villages understands young people, aged 15-24, who have lost parental care or are at risk of losing it, and need guidance to enter adulthood.
SOS Children's Villages program development director for Indonesia, Yudi Kartiwa, said that while the organization already has family-based care programs, "Youth Can!" will specifically focus on providing necessary training to help the young get employed.
"We have more specific indicators. We will see the problems faced by the disadvantaged youth when they prepare for the job market. Then we will map out the key activities and target outcome," he said, adding that it is a pilot project in Asia.
"It is a global initiative and collaboration, but we focus on Asia first. Indonesia will kick off the program, followed by Sri Lanka," Yudi told the Jakarta Globe.
The non-profit organization has partnered with the corporate sector, including German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL Group.
DHL and SOS Children's Villages have earlier collaborated in DHL's "Go Teach" corporate social responsibility program, where its employees volunteered in educational activities for underdeveloped neighborhoods.
DHL Indonesia has implemented the program in Jakarta, Bandung (West Java) and Flores (East Nusa Tenggara).
"We have worked with DHL for three years. They have empowered our youth with many advantageous programs. Of course it is with benefit to us to expand the collaboration," Yudi added.
International paints and coatings company AkzoNobel is also among the program's partners. Despite being a newcomer in working with SOS Children's Villages, the company has already designed a program called "Let's Color," involving teaching young people about the industry in hope to combine their artistic skills with business knowledge to embark on entrepreneurial activities.
"We're also in the process of getting Allianz aboard. We're open to work with others, not just big corporations but also small businesses as long as we share the same vision of empowering youth," Yudi said.
"With 'Youth Can!,' our goal is to have the youth secure decent jobs and be independent," he added.
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