Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Inicio
Administración pública Agua y saneamiento Ciencia, tecnología e innovación Comercio e integración regional Conocimeinto Abierto Desarrollo infantil temprano Desarrollo urbano y vivienda Educación Energía Género y diversidad Impacto Industrias Creativas Medio ambiente, cambio climático y Salvaguardias Política y gestión fiscal Salud Sin Miedos Trabajo y pensiones
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Enfoque Educación

  • INICIO
  • CATEGORÍAS
    • Desarrollo infantil temprano y educación inicial
    • Educación y trabajo
    • Financiamiento
    • Género y educación
    • Infraestructura y tecnología educativa
    • Sistemas educativos
    • Docentes
  • Autores
  • Español

How can we help “unattached” youth transition into the work force?

February 12, 2015 por Claudia Uribe Deja un comentario


 

In Latin American and the Caribbean, about 1 in every 5 youth aged 15-24 are neither in school nor in the workforce. This amounts to roughly 25 million young people whose situation is affecting not only their present and future earnings, motivation and self-esteem, but also their society’s economic outlook and well-being!

Are they a “lost generation” as some are claiming? We refuse to think so. We believe that it is within our governments’ and our own power and responsibility to provide young people the skills and opportunities to lead productive lives. While evidence shows that there are admittedly many challenges for helping youth in an effective manner, it also shows that programs that are strong in developing work and life skills through internships and training, that give importance to self-development and self-esteem, and that have a good mentoring component are best positioned to do so.

Jamaica’s youth development programs for “unattached” youth are an interesting case to learn from, both because they offer different modalities of attention and because they have been rigorously evaluated.  For the past decade or so, the National Youth Service (NYS) in Jamaica with the support from the Inter-American Development Bank has been giving young “unattached” people a second chance at success through different programs: The CORPs residential program (phased out), the CORPs non-residential program, and the Career Advancement Program (CAPS). The CORPs programs provide youth with training in limited sector skills as well as personal and general workplace skills such as communication, conflict management, and employability skills, complemented by internship opportunities under a workplace supervisor. The CAP program provides youth with two extra years of schooling in which apart from academics they receive skills training for the job market.

The programs’ evaluation which was carried out by a team from the Universities of North Texas and the West Indies  with support from the IDB  yield some interesting findings and lessons:

  • Programs can be effective in developing needed job-related skills: Participants in all modalities gained in academic performance, self-efficacy, and workplace skills relative to non-participants. Gains were noted in problem-solving, self-appraisal, ability to gather occupational information.
  • Program effects decline after time if no further opportunities or follow-up are provided: In nearly all outcome measures, effects from the programs decline after participation. This suggests that in order to maintain the basic abilities required for employment success and continuing education, youth need opportunities for skill maintenance as well as encouragement and assistance to seek them out, (i.e with a mentor).
  • Raising full time employment rates for youth is not an automatic result of training:  Similar levels of full-time employment in the treatment and control groups, post-program, suggest a need for increased support and follow-up in the transition to employment.
  • Socio-emotional development requires of strategies different to training: There was no impact on the risk and resiliency scales and very low effects on socio-emotional development. Clearly, this is an area that needs more attention.

If you know of programs aimed at helping “unattached” youth or have good ideas, share them with us and join our discussion on how to build programs that effectively serve them.

 

 


Archivado bajoEnglish

Claudia Uribe

Claudia Uribe is the Lead Education Specialist for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Mexico. She is responsible for spearheading the technical and operational work in the lending activities and technical assistance that the Bank develops in Mexico. Dr. Uribe has been working for the Bank since 2003, participating in various lending operations and technical assistance projects in several countries in the region. Before joining the Bank, she served as the Director General of School Organization in the Ministry of Education of Colombia, she was the co - director of the Center for the Support for Women and Families in Colombia, and she was a consultant for several governments and international organizations in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Dr. Uribe has a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University with a specialization in Educational Planning, a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University focusing on Human Development, and a BA in Anthropology from Tulane University .

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

SIGUENOS

Subscribe

Buscar

Enfoque Educación

"Enfoque Educación" es el blog de la División de Educación del BID, un espacio donde nuestros especialistas y autores invitados comparten sus reflexiones, experiencias y conocimientos para promover discusiones informadas sobre temas educativos entre formuladores de política, expertos, maestros, y padres. Nuestra meta: proveer ideas para que las políticas publicas puedan garantizar una enseñanza efectiva y de calidad para todos los niños y jóvenes de América Latina y el Caribe.

Recent Posts

  • Del doppelgänger digital al filósofo de carne y hueso: entrevistando al “auténtico” Peter Singer sobre IA y ética en la educación
  • Política educativa y resultados: (Casi) Todo está en la implementación. 
  • Estudiantes como ciudadanos globales: 4 formas de desarrollar preparación en IA para aprendices listos para el futuro
  • Explorando la ética de la IA en la educación: una conversación con el chatbot de Peter Singer
  • ‘Los maestros brillantes que me formaron’: homenaje de Bill Gates a sus maestros  

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

    Blogs escritos por empleados del BID:

    Copyright © Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo ("BID"). Este trabajo está disponible bajo los términos de una licencia Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Reconocimiento-No comercial-Sin Obras Derivadas. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) y pueden reproducirse con la debida atribución al BID y para cualquier uso no comercial. No se permite ningún trabajo derivado. Cualquier disputa relacionada con el uso de las obras del BID que no se pueda resolver de manera amistosa se someterá a arbitraje de conformidad con el reglamento de la CNUDMI. El uso del nombre del BID para cualquier otro propósito que no sea la atribución, y el uso del logotipo del BID estarán sujetos a un acuerdo de licencia escrito por separado entre el BID y el usuario y no está autorizado como parte de esta licencia CC-IGO. Tenga en cuenta que el enlace proporcionado anteriormente incluye términos y condiciones adicionales de la licencia.


    Blogs escritos por autores externos:

    Para preguntas relacionadas con los derechos de autor para autores que no son empleados del BID, por favor complete el formulario de contacto de este blog.

    Las opiniones expresadas en este blog son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del BID, su Directorio Ejecutivo o los países que representan.

    Atribución: además de otorgar la atribución al respectivo autor y propietario de los derechos de autor, según proceda, le agradeceríamos que incluyera un enlace que remita al sitio web de los blogs del BID.



    Política de privacidad

    Derechos de autor © 2025 · Magazine Pro en Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

    Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

    Aviso Legal

    Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

    facebook
    twitter
    youtube
    En este sitio web se utilizan cookies para optimizar la funcionalidad y brindar la mejor experiencia posible. Si continúa visitando otras páginas, se instalarán cookies en su navegador.
    Para obtener más información al respecto, haga clic aquí.
    X
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT