Context: Available statistics reveal that 36 per cent of the population of Mongolia is made up of young people aged 15 to 34. Youth also comprise 55 per cent of the working-age population. A mere 22 per cent, or 6,724 out of the 30,894 total graduates of the academic year 2016-2017, found immediate employment that year. According to the Human Development Report 2016, students spent 2.6 to 3.0 years looking to secure employment in their chosen profession. Youth employment rates have not significantly risen despite an educated population. Therefore, this programme aims to increase the competitiveness of students, create employment opportunities, improve labour conditions, and take multilateral action to create responsible citizens.
Implementation of programme/initiative: The aims of the Program for Support of Youth Start-ups and Self-employment are:
1.To support start-up businesses that engage young people
2.To provide repayable financial support to youth entering the world of employment
3.To offer manufacturing premises and make equipment available at a discounted rate
Main challenges: The main challenge faced is, primarily, a lack of information about the programme to allow it to have a greater impact. As of yet, this initiative has not been effectively advertized to the young population, which results in a reduced awareness of this service. Another prominent issue is the insufficient knowledge and the lack of educational resources for start-ups.
Results achieved: As a result of the initiative, 495 graduates joined business incubation services. A total of 389 young people enrolled in entrepreneurship training at a cost of MNT 91,562,000 (USD 37,572). Some 66 graduates also received assistance covering rental costs for their startup businesses at a value of MNT 2,790,000 (USD 1,145), and 40 people provided sales support at an expense of MNT 17,968,000 (USD 7,370).
Moving forward: The labour agency will develop start-up training modules, and local labour sites will conduct training for youth on establishing start-ups. This increased use of educational resources will be of great benefit to the youth involved. Raising awareness of the programme needs to become a key aspect moving forward, as often students do not take full advantage of the initiative due to a lack of information.
Replicability: This initiative has provided training and support to young people, enabling them to launch start-ups and establish small businesses. Such an approach could be replicated by governments wishing to invest in youth employment and, more specifically, start-ups. When looking to replicate the programme, initiatives should focus on offering in-depth instruction on the technical aspects and processes of starting a business. This would provide advanced information to youth launching start-ups and security for those choosing to invest in youth entrepreneurs.
References:
http://www.mn.undp.org/content/mongolia/en/home/library/National-Human-Development-Reports.html
Acknowledgments:
This good practice was kindly edited by Ms. Elizabeth Linklater.
Project Details
Date: June 5, 2018