Geokchay, AZERBAIJAN (ILO News) – Yafa Gurbanova does not at all look like a mother of five children. At the age of 29 she already has three daughters and two sons. Her eldest child is 12 years old and the youngest one is 4.

As the family grew, Gurbanova and her husband quickly realized that one salary alone would not be enough to make ends meet. The family gathered and it was decided that she would start teaching computer classes in an apartment that her parents agreed to vacate for this purpose. “Starting a computer class was my idea,” Gurbanova says. “I had completed a computer training course with excellent marks, and people said I was a good teacher.”

Four years passed, but her computer class was not bringing the expected profit and the business was not growing. One of the reasons was that as an informal entrepreneur, Gurbanova could not issue official certificates to the graduates. As a result, she was losing many potential clients.

Everything changed when her district was selected as a pilot rural area for an innovative entrepreneurship programme under the “Partnerships for Youth Employment in the Commonwealth of Independent States” project, implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and financially supported by the Russian oil company LUKOIL. This allowed Gurbanova to apply for a subsidy from the Public Employment Service (PES).

“The project aims to improve the effectiveness of policies and programmes for youth employment in order to support the creation of more and better jobs for young people in the formal economy,” says Olga Koulaeva, Senior ILO Employment Specialist, Decent Work Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “It takes into consideration the diversity of countries and fosters pro-employment growth and decent job creation. The project supports macroeconomic and labour market policies reform; pilots integrated youth employment programmes that include skills and labour market training, self-employment and entrepreneurship support, and rights for young people.”

In Azerbaijan, which is one of the project countries, there are three million young people. Despite accounting for 30 per cent of the overall population, they are one of the most vulnerable groups. In 2013, the unemployment rate among young people aged 15-29 was 10.3 per cent compared to a total unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent¹. The situation of young workers and entrepreneurs in the informal economy is particularly difficult.

The subsidy programme for young entrepreneurs was implemented in cooperation with the PES of Azerbaijan under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population. The PES has a network of branch offices in all regions of the country.

“Applicants were many, and we had to be very strict in selecting the initiatives that received support by the pilot project. Only proposals with viable ideas and a solid business plan were granted support, including access to funds,” says Musa Musayev, senior specialist at the local employment office.

“As it turned out, most of our applicants had no idea how to draft a business plan, and here the ILO’s Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) Programme² has proved to be a valuable and useful instrument. As a certified SIYB master trainer, I delivered this training myself. I cannot recall a more motivated group than these young entrepreneurs. Our specialists visit them regularly to monitor how their business is going and to provide assistance and advice when needed,” he says.

For Margur Ahmadov, a young sheep-breeder, everything he learned at the training was new. “Now I have a totally different vision of improving and expanding my family business,” he says.

Ahmadov has carefully planned how to invest the funding he received to improve and expand his business and to move it to the formal economy. Meanwhile, Gurbanova has bought five computers and new furniture for her computer class. She also plans to register her business and looks at the future with confidence: “An official computer class can issue graduation certificates. This will certainly attract new clients and allow me to expand my business,” she says.

According to Mikhail Pouchkin, ILO project Chief Technical Adviser, such pilot programmes can have high employment potential and guide constituents in shaping national strategies and action on youth employment.

“Support to young entrepreneurs living in rural areas in the form of integrated packages of labour market programmes - including skills and entrepreneurial training, legal advice, mentorships and access to networks, finance and business development services - can give a new start to young women and men wishing to establish and sustain their own business in the formal economy,” he says.

That’s why the 104th International Labour Conference is discussing a Recommendation that would provide comprehensive guidance to ILO member States on how to facilitate transitions from the informal to the formal economy.

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¹ State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan

²Start and Improve Your Business Programme (SIYB) is an ILO management training programme with a focus on starting and improving small businesses as a strategy for creating more and better employment in developing economies and economies in transition.