Decent jobs for Egypt’s young people The greatest threat to Egypt’s tenuous economic progress is its tremendous lack of decent work opportunities for young people (aged 15 to 29). Unemployment which stands at 14 per cent for young men and 45 per cent for young women is only the tip of the iceberg as many young people have to accept low productivity, low paid and insecure jobs, far below their capabilities. The lack of decent work is preventing the next generation of Egyptians from gaining the skills, experience and income necessary for the further economic, social and political development of their country. Drawing on lessons learned from numerous youth employment initiatives in Egypt and in other countries, the following project document proposes an ambitious multi-dimensional and integrated approach to stimulating youth employment over a four year period. The project aims at increasing decent employment opportunities for young men and women, especially vulnerable groups, through five principal strategies: 1. Improving the performance of the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower and Migration, other relevant Ministries and national partners, with a focus on implementing the recently developed National Action Plan for Youth Employment (US$ 1.6 million) 2. Through a competition, selecting three Governorates who will develop a regional action plan for youth employment and strengthening the performance of local partners in these Governorates to provide services necessary to promote youth employment (US$ 1.6 million) 3. Developing the capacity of training institutions to provide skills and learning experiences that can increase the likelihood of finding employment. Interventions include the development of modern apprenticeship systems for young people in the informal sector, the development and delivery of entrepreneurial skills packages in tourism, agriculture and manufacturing, specialized entrepreneurial capacity development for poor rural women and skills development and labour market integration for people with disabilities (US$ 3.4 million) 4. Strengthening the capacity of local public employment services, youth organizations, and enterprises to efficiently match skill supply and demand, allowing young people to find jobs and employers to retain badly needed workers (US$ 1.7 million) 5. Promoting enterprise development and self-employment through a promotional campaign, improved policy environment, and strengthened business services. The project will directly support the accompaniment of 500 new businesses launched through the project and at least 10000 young people will profit from improved business services (US$ 1.5 million). The project will address national institutions in Cairo, but will also take place in three Governorates selected through a competition. The project will seek to select Governorates that are primarily dominated by agriculture, industry and tourism respectively, to allow for diversity in experiences. The project is accompanied by a rigorous monitoring and evaluation plan, and project results will be shared and publicized to allow for maximum analysis and replicability of good practices. The contribution sought from CIDA is 10 million CAD$ (roughly 9.8 million US$). The Government of Egypt has agreed to make US$ 5 million available through the Social Fund, which can be used by young entrepreneurs to launch entrepreneurial activities. Selected Governorates will contribute with 10 per cent of the money needed to implement their regional action plans.