Education Ministry and USAID join hands:

Unemployed youth to gain

The Education Ministry announced it will provide workforce readiness training to thousands of Sri Lankan youth, thanks to the funding from the Asian Development Bank.

The Accelerated Skills Acquisition Program, a program started with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will provide the training using a specialised curriculum that targets unemployed youth in the ages 15-25.

The high unemployment rates of youth who do not enter the university continue to be a national concern. To better prepare young people to find jobs and be successful in their careers, the Education Ministry considered a wide range of job skills programs, finally selecting the USAID-funded ASAP.

The Education Ministry chose ASAP because of its success in working with young people, especially school leavers, and its strong relationships with the private sector. ASAP’s close collaboration with the private sector has ensured that the training curricula teaches the skills youth need most to be successful in the workplace.

Under the Asian Development Bank-funded Education for Knowledge Society Project (EKSP), the Education Ministry activities will empower selected students who have completed their Advanced Level (A/L) exams and who come from economically disadvantaged families.

ASAP will support the acquisition of post-secondary, career-oriented soft skills that are essential for finding gainful employment, especially in the emerging ICT and service sectors of the Sri Lankan economy.

As 2009 is the ‘Year of Information Technology and English’, EKSP will support successful initiatives in alignment with the Ministry’s objectives to strengthen IT and langauge skills.

USAID, the development agency of the US Government, provided $2.4 million to launch the ASAP Program in 2006. Since then, ASAP has trained more than 8,000 unemployed youth in career success skills, with about 2,000 currently employed or participating in apprenticeships. This high-quality program will continue to help more youth in Sri Lanka.

“USAID is proud of what the ASAP Program has accomplished in training young people in the skills they need to find jobs and be successful in their careers,” stated Gerald R. Andersen, USAID Director, Office of Economic Growth.

“We are especially glad that the Education Ministry shares our excitement about this program. With this new partnership, thousands of young people will find good jobs, gaining financial independence that will benefit their families and communities,” he continued.

The ASAP Program focuses on building, “soft” skills such as English language and computer literacy training, interviewing skills, good work ethic, and productive attitudes. Curriculum designers worked closely with the private sector to develop training programs so that youth are ready to step into the private sector successfully. ASAP also links trainees to employers and vocational training centers, especially in rural areas.

The ASAP Program was designed and implemented by Creative Associates International, Inc. in partnership with the International Youth Foundation and the Christian Children’s Fund.