Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The project will empower Kosovo’s young people for a transition to engaged citizenship and work. It will provide adolescent girls and boys and young women and men in Kosovo with the space and opportunities for skills development, school-to-work transitions and to be actively engaged as agents for social change in their communities.

Expected results

1. Strengthened skills-based curriculum of the upper-secondary formal education system and local innovation hubs;

2. Extended partnerships for school-to-work transition for young people through the Kosovo Generation Unlimited Programme;

3. Strengthened Digital and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills for adolescents and youth.

Target group / Beneficiaries

In total 12,800 direct beneficiaries are targeted. The proposed project will mainly target adolescent girls and boys and young women and men aged 14-24 years as well as teachers. UNICEF will work with a range of local partners at municipal level or at the University of Pristina but also continuing a strong partnership with the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, and The Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers .The intervention aims to bring in local, grassroots NGOs as key partners for expanding the non-formal skills building programmes to new municipalities including the IPKO Foundation, YMCA in Kosovo, Kosovo Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Network and Domovik. Collaboration with established innovation hubs in Gjakova/?akovica, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Lipjan/Lipljan, and Zubin Potok/Zubin Potoku will extend to bordering municipalities, including Gracanica/Gra?anica, Partesh/Parteš, Prizren/Prizren, Strpce/Štrpce, Mitrovica e Veriut/North Mitrovica, Leposaviq/Leposavi?, and Zveçan/Zve?an.

Activities

Support to the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation with training resources and an action plan to deliver skills-based programmes in schools. In addition to specific skill sets related to skills-building programmes, particular attention will be placed on challenging gender stereotypes.

Support to the Faculty of Education of the University of Prishtina in the preparation of training resources and in the delivery of trainings for pre-service teachers. Particular attention will be placed on challenging traditional gender norms through experiential learning, especially vis-à-vis narratives used by teachers in the classrooms.

Expand the coverage of existing local innovation hubs to new municipalities in close coordination with local authorities;

Conduct a training of trainers for skills-based programmes;

Support youth-led initiatives deriving from the delivery of skills-based programmes in both formal education and via local innovation hubs.

Internships for young people in public and private sector entities;

Coordinate activities and efforts with the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers and the private sector under the Kosovo Generation Unlimited secretariat/platform;

Mentorship and training for young people via the Kosovo Generation Unlimited platform and programmes.

Asses institutional needs and analyse requests from institutions;

Outreach and mobilization activities to reach young people from marginalized communi-ties;

2-month ICT trainings to adolescents and youth;

Completion of the handover process and training of officials for the administration of the digital solutions.

Context

According to a Gallup survey only a small number of young people have the required skillset to fill vacancies in the private and public sectors. In the first quarter of 2021, young people in Kosovo were two times more unlikely to be unemployed than adults. Marginalized young people are disproportionately affected, including those from rural areas, belonging to minority groups and those living with disabilities. Youth unemployment rates further hamper young people’s ability to fully develop their potential and to actively contribute to society. According to the latest data , 29% of 15-24 year-olds are unemployed while 31.7% are neither in education, employment or training, meaning they neither study nor work.