ACT/EMP Project on Social Dialogue and Youth Employment

Interregional programme launched in 2007, funded by the Norwegian Government. The programme currently has on-going activities in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Uganda and Vietnam.

The overall aim of the ACT/EMP Programme on Social Dialogue and Youth Employment is to strengthen the influence of employers' organizations on national policies relevant to youth employment and to promote job creation and poverty alleviation through the implementation of practical measures and initiatives aimed at bringing young men and women into productive and decent work.

The country projects follow a similar three-pronged strategy focusing on the three following main areas and collaborating with trade unions where relevant:

• Knowledge and capacity building: Diagnostic studies that identify the mismatches between the skills available through the education/training systems and the skills required by employers, measuring not only the current but also the future training needs in relevant sectors.
• Lobbying and advocacy: With the knowledge and capacity acquired from the surveys, employers' organizations influence the education and training systems at sectoral level to increase their relevance to the workplace.
• Tools and methodologies: Direct services developed by employers' organizations for their members aimed at enhancing the employability and productivity of youth, including setting up mentoring and apprenticeship programmes, career guidance, employability skills and school-to-work programmes and business clinics for young entrepreneurs.