Call for partners in Nigeria

Call for partners in Nigeria

Due Date: 13 October 2024

About the project and call

Young Africa International (YAI) is looking for private or government Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutions and Non-Governmental Organisations working with young vulnerable people to partner with to implement a 4-year project titled, Youth Employability Booster (YEB) which aims to deliver interventions that increase the capacity of young vulnerable Nigerians to secure and sustain dignified work. The proposed impact of YEB is to improve the socio-economic empowerment, self-reliance and resilience of Nigerian youth aged 15-35 and their communities, with a predominant focus on young women (approximately 75%) and men to ensure their successful transition to employment.

ABOUT YOUNG AFRICA INTERNATIONAL.

Founded in the Netherlands in 1998 Young African (YA) currently operates eight TVET centers in four countries as a federation of locally registered affiliated organisations (Affiliates). YA also operates in 2 countries in partnership with 3 other organisations that are replicating the YA models. Each YA Affiliate operates TVET – Centre(s), implements youth (self-) employment programmes, and community activities.

The vision of YA is a world of equality and shared wealth where the power of young people is channelled to transform the world around them. The mission of YA is the integral development of disadvantaged youths aged 15 to 35 years with a special focus on young women and youths with disabilities. YA does this through the impartation of skills of the hands to make them self-reliant, skills of the heart and mind to help them live with dignity and skills of the soul to help them live with a purpose.

Young Africa’s core business is essential skills training for employability and entrepreneurship. Since 2001 YA has graduated over 60,000 youths that completed the deep-impact integral TVET training and 260 000 people have been reached with other community outreach interventions.

Young Africa’s uniqueness lies essentially in these two innovative concepts: the Franchise Business Model and the Integral approach to Youth development.

The integral approach to youth development

YA’s integral approach to the youth development programme is based on the conviction that for young people to reach their full potential they must develop in a holistic way. The integral approach to youth development addresses the multi-dimensional nature of the development needs of young people (i.e. economic, social, and emotional) in a highly synchronised way. Young people receive on-the-job vocational training (70% practical, 30% theory), life skills education, have access to wellness, and psychosocial support services, talent development in sport and art, work readiness and entrepreneurship skills training as part of the programme. As part of complementary courses that are an integral part of our training programmes at YA, students also receive digital literacy training as part of its innovative high-impact solution to addressing youth employment needs.

The Franchise Business Model

Young Africa delivers its centre-based skills training through an innovative franchise business model (recognised by UNESCO UNEVOC as a promising best practice). The broader purpose of the YA Franchise Model is to ensure the financial sustainability of TVET centres, create the opportunity for on-the-job exposure to trainees, the availability of local entrepreneurial role models to youths, and participation of Young Africa centres in the local economy as well as a cost-efficient alternative to traditional cost-intensive technical vocational training.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for organisations that have experience and are willing to partner with us to implement one or more of the following interventions

Support the roll-Out of Mobile ‘Integral’ Technical Vocational Education and Training (ITVET) for 2,500 Youth.

In response to access-related barriers and constraints, this intervention will target socio-economically and educationally disadvantaged, un(der)employed youth in unserved and marginalised areas of Nigeria. The mobile TVET will be coordinated through local partners but implemented in sites selected as per the inception stage baseline and needs assessments. Informed by market, gender and youth needs assessments, in partnership with local TVET and industry partners, YA’s model for Mobile ITVET (targeting unserved locations) will offer market-relevant vocational skills training integrated with life skills education, entrepreneurship training, wellness services which include psychosocial support and SRHR support, financial literacy, work readiness and a package of post-training support services that facilitate market insertion and transition to work (work readiness training, start-up kits, savings and lending training, linkages with MFIs, internships, mentorship and coaching). This training equips youths for (self)employment, enhancing income-earning capacity and livelihoods (Direct Reach: enrolled: 2,500 Youth) Also, it is essential to note that the internship postings facilitated by YAI have a strong success rate of leading to employment, with our studies showing that 40% of YAI supported youth are absorbed by their employers. Additionally, the programme will provide start-up kit support for aspiring business owners.. Up to 250 start-up kits will be provided to the most promising project participants under this intervention Package.

Intervention Package 2: Deliver Tailored Business Development Support Booster Training for Young Entrepreneurs, targeting 5,000 Female-led Nano and Micro Enterprise-owners

This intervention targets women-owned nano and micro enterprises, and participants will receive a suite of holistic business development services, including entrepreneurship, life skills training, business mentorship and linkages to additional external business incubation support, including curated resources on access to financing for further scale-up and to stimulate long-term viability, sustained growth, self-confidence and enhanced resilience towards social and economic shocks. Childcare services, provided by trained early childhood development professionals and SRHR and psychosocial support, will be provided during training to allow young parents and young nursing mothers to participate. SRHR training and support will be provided to target youth. (Direct Reach: 5000 Female Youth); Up to 750 start-up kits will be provided to the most promising project participants under this intervention Package.

Intervention Package 3: Establishing a YAI ‘model centre’: Integrating & Embedding the Franchise Business Model (FBM)

YAI will identify an existing TVET centre in Nigeria that will be adapted to and operate using the FBM to deliver integral TVET to socio-economically and educationally disadvantaged youths. The centre will demonstrate how the FBM model works to contribute to a) the operational and financial sustainability of TVET centres, b) increase competencies of trainees, c) harness locally available human resources to train youths for work and entrepreneurship, and c) demonstrate proof of concept for scalability, replicability, and YAI’s Pan-African desire to contribute to systems changes in TVET.

Intervention Package 3A: Disseminating YAI’s innovative models for youth economic empowerment with other TVET providers

The 9 selected TVET providers for this intervention, in addition to the 1 model centre under Intervention Package 4) will be trained on how to use and integrate YA’s a) FBM, b) ‘integral’ approach to youth socio-economic empowerment and mobile integral TVET. We define this as integrating vocational, life skills and entrepreneurship education with wellness (including sexual and reproductive health and rights – SRHR) and psychosocial support services; and c) implementing the mobile integral TVET methodology**.**