Bridges to the future: employment solutions for youth SUMMARY 
The project is concentrated in the Northeast region of Brazil, a region with 9.6 million people and one of the highest numbers of unemployed youth. To increase the socioeconomic integration of vulnerable youth in Salvador and Camaçari in Bahia State, the project is working on providing market relevant vocational training and life skills. The aim is to increase the chances of 1,200 young people (between 17-24 years old, 60 per cent female) to find formal employment or to become an entrepreneur. The project is implemented by Plan International Brazil from March 2015 till August 2018. The municipalities Salvador and Camaçari in Bahia State are facing the highest youth unemployment rate. Among young people (from 15-24) from Metropolitan Region of Salvador, 13% are not working or studying, and are vulnerable to poverty, violence and social exclusion. The peripheral and semi-urban areas of Salvador have high levels of violence and drug use, and limited public services for education, health and social services.

Secondary education is often not providing youth with relevant skills and abilities to access and
remain in the labor market. Existing vocational training is based on supply and not on demand; the training centers are not able to address the actual market demands. Next to that, young people often drop out of regular education due to poverty and the urgent need to obtain income; long term career perspective and vision is lacking. Plan International intends to address the problem of youth unemployment and social exclusion, by providing vocational and life skills training based on market demands in the metropolitan region of Salvador. 
The project "Bridges for the Future: Employment Solutions for youth at-risk " has been designed with the general objective of contributing to the socio-economic integration of vulnerable young people, and consequently their communities. The specific objective of the project is to ensure Decent Work for vulnerable young people in the municipalities of Salvador and Camaçari, in the formal employment sector or through small for-profit enterprises. General objective: To increase the socio-economic integration of vulnerable young people in a in the metropolitan region of Salvador. 

Specific objective: Ensure Decent Work for vulnerable young people in the municipalities of Salvador and Camaçari, in the formal employment sector or through small companies, by providing market relevant technical training and life skills training.

Outcome 1: 1,200 young people have benefited from technical training vocational training and life skills training, 75% of which are absorbed by the labour market at the end of the project. 

Outcome 2: Private sector parties, VTCs and civil society organizations are better equipped to promote employability. 

Outcome 3: Companies are committed to adopt gender equality in their specific policies, and policies are applied to combat prejudice and gender discrimination.


To support the youth, the project is working with the following actors:
•	at least 75 teachers and instructors from vocational training centers: to be trained to offer market relevant TVET and life skills training
•	3 Vocational Training Centers focusing on 1) industry, 2) services and commerce, and 3) entrepreneurship: to be trained to manage the centers and to participate in the project
•	40 private sector partners / business owners: to be directly involved in the design of vocational training curricula
•	At least 30 young people: to be trained as mentors and to have leadership roles during training process and alumni networks
•	local partner NGO: to be trained in the Youth Economic Empowerment (YEE) methodology
•	2 Secretariats of State and 2 Municipal Secretariats (Education and Employment and Income): to be sensitized about the need to improve youth economic empowerment strategies, also addressing gender equality
•	3 Sector organizations: to be trained in YEE, gender and child protection methodology The project in Salvador is based on the experiences and lessons learned of the Youth Economic Empowerment program (YEE) that Plan International Brazil and its partners have implemented in urban areas around Recife and Natal.  Next to that, the project is also based on good practices in implementation of the Livelihood Program Advancement Business School (LABS) in India, Thailand and Vietnam, and the YEE Pathway approach in Mozambique, Indonesia and El Salvador. 1,200 young people (between 17-24 years old, 60% female) Outcome 1: 1,200 young people have benefited from technical training vocational training and life skills training, 75% of which are absorbed by the labour market at the end of the project. 
•	Preparation of the Training Plan
•	Recruitment and selection of participants for the training cycle
•	Life skills training
•	Vocational training
•	Job placement
•	Mentoring
•	Monitoring and evaluation activities of the training phase

Outcome 2: Private sector parties, VTCs and civil society organizations are better equipped to promote employability. 
•	Build an expanded public-private-VTC alliance for vocational training, placement in jobs and support to the development of the project
•	Guiding the theme of integrating life skills and technical training (YEE model) in education systems, in the Alliance's discussion agenda
•	Advocate for a better application of government policies favoring youth employment, as well as gender equality

Outcome 3: Companies are committed to adopt gender equality in their specific policies, and policies are applied to combat prejudice and gender discrimination.
•	Promotion of an agenda to address prejudice and discrimination based on gender The project strategies are designed to ensure sustainable impact.

Financial sustainability: 
Government, vocational training providers and private sector parties will work together on creating market relevant vocational training curricula accessible for vulnerable youth. As a result, young people with strengthened capacities will be better able to enter and remain in the labor market, contributing to the improvement of the family income and the local economy. 

Institutional Sustainability: 
The participation of partners and social actors in the design of the action ensures that the project is relevant to the local context and addresses cross-cutting issues such as gender, disability and inclusion of minorities. The public private partnerships for Youth Employment, formed during the project, will guarantee the relevance of the initiative also when the project has been finalized. Also Alumni networks are groups to continuously involve the community. 

Political  Sustainability: 
Good practices and lessons learned during project implementation are documented and used as evidence for advocacy in favor of public policies for the employability and socioeconomic inclusion of youth.