Context: In Nepal, 63.7 per cent of the total population of 26.5 million is below the age of 30. In turn, the unemployment rate for people aged 15-29 is 19.2 per cent. Furthermore, over 70 per cent of the economically active population is involved in the informal sector of the economy. This sector is characterized by low salaries, poor working conditions and lack of social protection. In this context, a large portion of the labour force, mainly comprising youth, opt to move overseas in search of better work opportunities.
In addition, Nepal’s population is rapidly growing and about 400,000 young people enter the labour market every year. As complex as this scenario seems for employment opportunities in the country, demographic and economic changes of this kind have brought a large demand for skilled workers, including carpenters, electricians and providers of other urban services.
Implementation of programme/ initiative: The Nepal Youth Foundation (NYF) recognizes Nepal’s compelling need to provide high quality vocational training for its younger population. Through its Vocational Education and Career Counselling (VECC) programme, it offers counselling and vocational courses to prepare underprivileged young adults for marketable careers.
Every year, VECC sponsors about 500 young people as they train in more than a dozen professions and become electricians, plumbers, furniture makers and computer technicians, among other professions. Participants are counselled and supported in their choice of career and subsequently throughout the processes of training, as well as later in their search for employment.
The programme began in 2007 and is evaluated every five years by the Social Welfare Council of the Government of Nepal. It receives 90 per cent of its funding from grants and contributions.
Main challenges: One of the main challenges faced by the training programme is ensuring that young people make informed decisions about their career choice. Many disadvantaged youth may be unaware of the diverse professions available to them, and which one best fits their interests and abilities. For this reason, NYF established a new Olgapuri Vocational School (OVS) and sponsors its students through VECC. This helps participants make reasoned decisions about their career choice and act with more commitment and confidence during the training programme.
Results achieved: Since the start of the programme in 2007, VECC counselled and trained about 6,500 young people in Nepal. About 82 per cent of its participants are currently employed and most found their work placement within three months of completing the training course.
Moreover, VECC has helped narrow the gender gap in well-paying work positions traditionally occupied by men. All of the women that have been trained as carpenters, plumbers and electricians have found employment, as these skills have been highly demanded since the 2015 earthquakes.
Furthermore, VECC prides itself for sponsoring girls rescued from the Kamlari system of child slavery to join the programme. Of 350 girls that completed the programme during the 2017/2018 fiscal year, 322 were almost immediately employed and earned a comparatively large salary of about US$4000-5000 per year.
Moving Forward: NYF continues to encourage donations to support VECC. It will further pursue the development of training in the four main areas: maintenance, carpentry, metalwork and caregiving. In addition, OVS seeks to strengthen its position as a leading institution providing tailored vocational training and developing the capacity of young people.
Replicability: VECC is a reminder of the effectiveness of targeted vocational training programmes. An entire basic training programme, that costs only around US$820, has a life changing impact in improving the economic situation and independence of a young person.
Moreover, key to the programme is NYF’s focus on vocational guidance and counselling. VECC’s success largely rests on its ability to guide participants in making informed choices of in-demand professions before training in such fields. In this way, the programme addresses the needs of the job market and ensures a high rate of graduate employability.
References:
https://www.odi.org/comment/10584-nepal-s-elections-opportunity-address-youth-employment
https://www.ilo.org/kathmandu/areasofwork/lang–en/index.htm
http://www.np.undp.org/content/dam/nepal/docs/2018_undpnepal/UNDP_NP-Youth-Strategy.pdf
https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/programs/vocational-education-career-counseling/
https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org.uk/vocational-education-career-counselling/
https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/vocational-training-is-working/
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/free-bonded-girls-from-nepal/reports/?subid=112241
Acknowledgements:
This good practice was kindly prepared by Ms. Xibai Ren and Ms. Victoria Mulville
Project Details
Date: March 18, 2019