Strengthening the economic and social resilience of vulnerable youth in The Gambia Eväitä elämään Gambian nuorille '"Our young people represent the promise of changing our society for the better. Conversely, young people are facing serious barriers to access the labour market, some of them are not transitioning to decent work and are almost at the risk of social exclusion' President of The Gambia Chamber of Commerce. The Gambia is one of the world's least developed countries. 64% of The Gambia?s population is under 24 years (21% between 15-24), with health, sexuality, education and employment being of particular concern. Young people 15-30 years have the highest rates of unemployment (43.9%), with only 10% employed in the formal sector and thousands leaving the country in search of opportunities each year. In order to ensure the full potential of youth in The Gambia, this project aims to achieve three principle outcomes: 1) Increase market-relevant technical skills for vulnerable youth and community members by strengthening local structures such as vocational training providers and career guidance centres and linking youth with decent work opportunities.  2) Increase vulnerable youth who are employed or self-employed by improving access to career counselling, mentorship programs, internships and apprenticeships and entrepreneurship training. 3) Improve social and life skills for vulnerable youth and communities by training youth on lifeskills, SRHR and other relevant social skills. The project will be implemented in partnership with SOS CV Finland and SOS CV Gambia, who have been working together since 2014. SOS Gambia's is an extremely respected national CSO with 33 years? experience working with the most vulnerable children/youth and strengthening local communities. SOS Finland has over 50 years? experience in child protection and over ten years? experience of development co-operation in Africa. The main partners at a local level are regional authorities, local schools, vocational centres, youth clubs and other stakeholders in Lower River Region, Central River Region and Upper River Region. The direct beneficiaries will be youth from SOS alternative care and family strengthening programs as well as school dropouts and unemployed youth from the wider communities." "Our young people represent the promise of changing our society for the better. Conversely, young people are facing serious barriers to access the labour market, some of them are not transitioning to decent work and are almost at the risk of social exclusion" President of The Gambia Chamber of Commerce.

The Gambia is one of the world's least developed countries. 64% of The Gambia’s population is under 24 years (21% between 15-24), with health, sexuality, education and employment being of particular concern. Young people 15-30 years have the highest rates of unemployment (43.9%), with only 10% employed in the formal sector and thousands leaving the country in search of opportunities each year. In order to ensure the full potential of youth in The Gambia, this project aims to achieve three principle outcomes:

1) Increase market-relevant technical skills for vulnerable youth and community members by strengthening local structures such as vocational training providers and career guidance centres and linking youth with decent work opportunities. 
2) Increase vulnerable youth who are employed or self-employed by improving access to career counselling, mentorship programs, internships and apprenticeships and entrepreneurship training.
3) Improve social and life skills for vulnerable youth and communities by training youth on lifeskills, SRHR and other relevant social skills.

The project will be implemented in partnership with SOS CV Finland and SOS CV Gambia, who have been working together since 2014. SOS Gambia's is an extremely respected national CSO with 33 years’ experience working with the most vulnerable children/youth and strengthening local communities. SOS Finland has over 50 years’ experience in child protection and over ten years’ experience of development co-operation in Africa. The main partners at a local level are regional authorities, local schools, vocational centres, youth clubs and other stakeholders in Lower River Region, Central River Region and Upper River Region. The direct beneficiaries will be youth from SOS alternative care and family strengthening programs as well as school dropouts and unemployed youth from the wider communities.