Skills development trainings for youth. Photo by UNV Cambodia
Skills development trainings for youth. Photo by UNV CambodiaThis project contributed to the creation of decent work opportunities for Cambodian youth through skills development and volunteerism. Volunteer placements helped youth to develop transferable skills and pursue paid opportunities after the programme. It facilitated skills training and accreditation of youths and provided tools to engage in social entrepreneurship. In addition, the project contributed to building the capacity of the Government of Cambodia in implementing mechanisms to manage volunteers and enhance cooperation with the private sector, civil society and academia. Building on the success of the implementation of the project, the Government is expanding the programme to multiple provinces and, with UNV support, will continue to develop a framework for the skills recognition and transfer of youth volunteer work.
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Cambodia

Poverty Reduction among Youth: Development of Youth Volunteers’ Skill Sets for Increased Employability

Overview

This project contributed to the creation of decent work opportunities for Cambodian youth through skills development and volunteerism. Volunteer placements helped youth to develop transferable skills and pursue paid opportunities after the programme. It facilitated skills training and accreditation of youths and provided tools to engage in social entrepreneurship. In addition, the project contributed to building the capacity of the Government of Cambodia in implementing mechanisms to manage volunteers and enhance cooperation with the private sector, civil society and academia. Building on the success of the implementation of the project, the Government is expanding the programme to multiple provinces and, with UNV support, will continue to develop a framework for the skills recognition and transfer of youth volunteer work. 

Beneficiaries

Youth and youth organizations

Partners

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS); Cambodia Volunteering Network; United Nations Volunteers (UNV)

Budget

$961,200

Duration

July 2017–March 2020

Mostly contributing to

Key Results

Over 8,100 young people (58 per cent female) from 25 provinces increased their skills in community-based entrepreneurship development.

The National Guidelines on the Support and Coordination of National Youth Volunteers in Cambodia were finalized and adopted by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS).

Public-private partnerships for volunteerism and the acquisition of transferable skills were fostered, which resulted in the creation of a total of five partnerships with Voluntary Service Overseas, WEduShare, the International Labour Organization, the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Cambodia and the Cambodian Scouts.

Three pilot initiatives on expanding volunteerism are being successfully scaled up from MoEYS by incorporating them into its national youth volunteering programme called Volunteer for My Community. The Ministry has planned to roll out this programme into six more provinces, with the objective of expanding it into all 25 provinces of the country.

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