Our Work Projects Countries Crowdfunding News Blogs About Contact Toggle search bar Open language selector Youth Employment in Mali Intro Problem Approach & Results Highlights Quotes News & Blogs Young people in Mali face employment challenges. Fewer jobs are created in the economy than are needed to keep pace with the growing population. All of this leads to high levels of unemployment. Yet, there is a mismatch between skills acquired through education and the needs of the markets. There is a demand for skilled people in key labour intensive economic sectors. The project ‘Youth employment create opportunities at home in Mali’ aims to train 8,620 young people, including 2,586 women and 1,293 returnees and create 6,472 jobs. Country Mali Start project 2018 Problem Young people in Mali face employment challenges. Fewer jobs are created in the economy than are needed to keep pace with the growing population. In addition, there is a mismatch between skills acquired through education and the needs of the markets. All of this leads to high levels of unemployment. Young population in Mali Mali’s population is young. It is estimated that around 60% is under 25 years old. Each year around 300,000 young people are entering the labor market. However, the formal sector employs only 5% of the labor force. The informal sector offers the greatest number of jobs, however, they are often precarious and low paid. The political crisis that hit Mali in 2012 worsened the situation, after which the number of young Malians trying to search for better lives in Europe increased dramatically. As the population of the region is expected to double by 2045, the importance of the employment issue is only increasing, especially with regard to the future prospects of young people. APPROACH In order to address youth unemployability, ICCO and its partners are working on the project ‘Youth employment create opportunities at home in Mali’. In this project we develop value chains in key labour intensive economic sectors, like horticulture and waste management. OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH The project aims to train 8,620 young people to run their own business, including 2,586 women and 1,293 returnees. The project ‘Youth employment create opportunities at home in Mali’ (EJOM, acronym for the French title ‘L’Emploi des Jeunes crée les Opportunités ici au Mali’) aims to have 75% of these young people working by 2021 in the regions of Koulikoro, Kayes, Gao and the district of Bamako. RESULTS At first, more than 31,000 young persons (aged 18 to 40) applied (13 times the number of openings available for the entire year). From this number, 2,400 youth were selected and received training, of which 42% were women. A second call in November 2018 led to the selection of 3,000 youths in the Kayes and Koulikoro regions. START OWN BUSINESS Despite the complex circumstances, everything indicates that EJOM’s approach is successful. Of the 2,500 young people who were trained in 2018, almost everyone started their own business. The 3,000 participants who were selected for the 2019 trajectory have started the training program in April. The selected youth follow training in their selected branch of activity, among waste management, horticulture, food processing and handicrafts. Besides the technical trainings, youth also receive business management and life skills. In addition, they are coached during the whole process to help them succeed. At the end, youth receive a stipend that they can use to buy inputs and tools that will allow them to kick-start their career or activity (for example setting up a start-up). Training for young people 8,620 Women 2,586 Jobs created 6,472 QUOTES Zakaria Koné (27 years) Participant and Bachelor in Agropastoralism “I am fulfilling my dream of having my own company in the field of waste collection. The project has helped me to develop my business management and life skills as well as waste management skills. Thanks to the support of the project, I will be better equipped to develop my activity“. European Union Read more about European Union SNV Read more about SNV Wash Read more about Wash APEJ Read more about APEJ SELECTING CANDIDATES OVERWHELMING RESPONSE HORTICULTURE WASTE MANAGEMENT Selecting candidates The first year of implementation, APEJ, the Malian governmental agency in charge of youth employment and a partner of the project, was solely responsible for the entire selection process. In January 2018, the agency launched a call for applicants which was broadcasted on TV, radios, social media and worship places. The applications were registered at all the administrative levels (communes, cercles and villages) then centralised and examined by a central selection committee. The selected youth follow training in their selected branch of activity, among waste management, horticulture, food processing and handicrafts. Besides the technical trainings, youth also receive business management and life skills. In addition, they are coached during the whole process to help them succeed. At the end, youth receive a stipend that they can use to buy inputs and tools that will allow them to kick-start their career or activity (for example setting up a start-up). NEWS AND BLOGS NEWS BLOGS Published on July 3, 2019 Young Leaders Committed to Good Local Governance in Mali MORE INFO Read more about Young Leaders Committed to Good Local Governance in Mali Published on July 1, 2019 Malian Youth Show Entrepreneurial Spirit MORE INFO Read more about Malian Youth Show Entrepreneurial Spirit Published on March 19, 2019 Creating Jobs for Youth in Mali MORE INFO Read more about Creating Jobs for Youth in Mali MORE NEWS RELATED PROJECTS PRCA-SA / Jege Ni Jaba II Countries: Mali Project started: 2020 MORE INFO Read more about PRCA-SA / Jege Ni Jaba II Commercial Alliance for Smallholders in Horticulture, in Mali The “Development of Public-Private Sector Partnerships for Vegetables in Sikasso and Mopti Regions of Mali” is a two-year ... 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