January 19, 2012 – In northern Pakistan, young people have very limited access to market-relevant skills training and enterprise development services, leading to a mismatch in the market and higher levels of unemployment and underemployment.
Fortunately, new opportunities are emerging. The Aga Khan Development Network sees youth participation and employment as central to its mandate of supporting the quality of life for communities, particularly in Pakistan.
To support this mission and on-going projects, Aga Khan Foundation Canada has created a Dynamic Reference Guide on Youth Employment that attempts to steer program developers and practitioners through the daunting amount of youth-focused literature by identifying lessons learned from key references and credible sources.
All lessons and case studies were selected based on their relevance to northern Pakistan, where the AKDN has made substantial investments in engaging youth. It is not necessary to apply each lesson from the Guide, but rather a variety of lessons are presented to offer readers options to consider. We hope that as a dynamic document, this Reference Guide will evolve over time and include emerging lessons from youth programming in Pakistan and beyond.
Download the Reference Guide here (PDF)
Read more: Supporting the Next Generation of Leaders in Pakistan (PDF)