Educate!'s Out-of-School Youth Solution

  • P Project/Program

A Active

Key Information

Educate! is working to build alternatives to secondary school for the ~50% of youth in East Africa who cannot access it, especially young women and girls in rural communities. These youth enter a labor market where the informal sector makes up as many as 85% of jobs, without the skills that would enable them to earn a sustainable living. 

Our solutions for out-of-school youth are built upon the evidence of our own core experience and a 3-week bootcamp we supported, which had 30%+ income gains three years later. World Bank Lead Economist Markus Goldstein noted, “Overall, this is a cool result — and one of the stronger I have seen for youth-oriented training.”

Our work building alternative education and employment pathways for out-of-school youth has been recognized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a leading effort accelerating progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth.

Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Kenya, Uganda

Activity URL

https://www.experienceeducate.org/out-of-school-youth

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

2019 -

Partner(s)

Not applicable or unknown

Ministry Affiliation

No ministry specified

Funder(s)

Not applicable or unknown

COVID-19 Response

Adapted

Geographic Scope

Global / regional

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Other

  • Transition from school to work

Other skills

  • Financial literacy
  • Life skills/sexuality education
  • Rights/empowerment education
  • Social and emotional learning
  • Vocational training

Cross-cutting areas

  • Adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
  • Climate change
  • Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
  • Empowerment
  • Gender equality
  • Mentorship
  • Social and gender norms and beliefs

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Boys out of school, Girls out of school, Youth

Age

14 - 30

School Enrolment Status

All out of school

School Level

  • N/A

Other populations reached

  • Other community members - female
  • Other community members - male
  • Other family members

Participants include

  • Adolescent mothers (pregnant or parenting)

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Community mobilization

Curriculum/learning

  • Gender-sensitive curricula
  • Remedial education/skills

Health and childcare services

  • Maternal and child health services

Learning while working

  • Vocational training

Life skills education

  • Gender, rights and power
  • Negotiation skills
  • Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building

Mentoring/psychosocial support

  • Peer mentors

Reducing economic barriers

  • Financial literacy training
  • Income-generating activities

School-related gender-based violence

  • Anti-violence policies and codes of conduct

Social/gender norms change

  • Work with community leaders

Women's empowerment programs

  • Advocacy/action
  • Empowerment training
  • Leadership training
  • Self-help groups (financial, including savings and credit groups)

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Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved critical thinking
  • Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved financial literacy and savings
  • Improved sexual and reproductive health
  • Increased agency and empowerment
  • Increased employment/job-related skills
  • More equal power in relationships
  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms
  • Reduced adolescent pregnancy/childbearing