We’d like to hear directly from young people on two things:
💬 Which topics and themes would be most useful to you?
📱 Which content formats make learning most engaging?

The survey is short, but the input will help make the course more relevant, practical and accessible.

🔗 surveymonkey.com/r/7PHVXY9

Help shape learning that works for young people.

The consultation seeks insights from young people, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers on emerging practices, lessons learned, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) policies and programmes—including National Action Plans (NAPs).

💬 Your experience can help shape future YPS policies and frameworks.
📅 Deadline: 31 August 2026
🌍 Respond in your own words—participants are encouraged not to use AI tools.
🗣️ You can also participate in your preferred language on the SparkBlue platform.

👉 Join the consultation: SparkBlue – Youth as Catalysts for Peace

My name is Jiner, and together with my research partner Xingxuan, we are two young researchers who have lived the very experience we study. Like many of you, we navigated the jump from education into the labor market through internships and work placements and figuring it out as we went, sometimes thriving, sometimes just surviving. That personal experience is a big part of what drew us to this research.

Our community in China was at the heart of this work. Through interviews with young people there, three concerns kept coming up, almost without fail:

1. "Will AI or technology replace me before I even get started?"

2. "The playing field isn't equal, especially for young women at the point of being hired."

3. "My internship didn't actually lead to a real job. Why?"

These weren't abstract policy concerns. They were real anxieties from real young people trying to find their footing. So our research asked: what does the current work-based learning (WBL) system actually look like, and more importantly, is it genuinely moving young people into stable, quality employment? What we found is that most systems are designed to maximize placements, not outcomes. Getting young people into a program is treated as the finish line, when really it should be the starting line.

To address this, we developed the Work-Based Learning Quality Maturity Model, a three-level framework that shifts the central question from "was the young person placed?" to "did they actually grow?" It moves from basic access (Level 1: Survival), to intentional skill-building (Level 2: Skills), to long-term career resilience (Level 3: Resilience). We believe this is the kind of diagnostic that governments, employers, and training providers can practically use to upgrade programs, not just count numbers.

One thing you can do right now: Think about a work placement or internship you've had (or heard about). Where would it sit on that scale: Survival, Skills, or Resilience? We'd love to hear in the comments.

We'd also love to open this up to you:

1. From your own experience or context, what do you think is the biggest barrier stopping work-based learning from turning into actual, lasting employment for young people?

2. Gender came up repeatedly in our research as a conversion-stage problem, with women being filtered out at the hiring decision rather than the training stage. Does that match what you've seen in your community or country?

3. If you could change one thing about how internships or apprenticeships are designed, what would it be?

   On a personal note, this research means a great deal to both of us. As young people ourselves, we know how fast this landscape is shifting. Being able to amplify the voices and concerns of young people through this platform, and as part of the Generation Unlimited initiative, is something we don't take lightly. We're genuinely grateful for the opportunity, and we are very much still learning too.

Looking forward to the conversation, and to the webinar! 🙌

1. Jobs and Skills in the Era of Digitalization and AI
📅 26 October – 20 November 2026 | Online (ITCILO eCampus) | 4 weeks, 1 live webinar/week
This course equips employment and skills professionals with ILO diagnostic tools to assess how digitalization and AI are reshaping jobs and labour markets, and to design evidence-based policy responses — from modernizing public employment services to redesigning TVET curricula for an AI-augmented economy.
🔗 Course page

2. Designing and Delivering Inclusive TVET Programmes
📅 2-27 November 2026| Online (ITCILO eCampus) | 4 weeks, 1 live webinar/week
This course supports TVET institutions, trainers, curriculum developers and policymakers to move beyond access-focused approaches and build genuinely inclusive skills systems for diverse learners, including in fragile, rural and displacement contexts.
🔗 Course page

Each scholarship covers the full tuition fee (€1,010).

Who can apply
Applications are open exclusively to members of the Network of Youth Employment Experts with a complete forum profile. We welcome applications from all professional backgrounds represented in the Network — government, UN agencies, research institutions, and grassroots/civil society organizations alike. Preference will be given to members from the four target countries (Cambodia, Malawi, Philippines, Rwanda) who can demonstrate relevant experience in youth employment.

How to apply
Complete the short application form linked below. It should take no more than 10 minutes.
👉 Apply Here

Deadline: 1 October 2026

Selected candidates will be notified by 15 October and supported through the ITCILO registration process.

Greetings from Busuma Refugee Camp, Ruyigi Province, Burundi.

I am MUKENGERE KIRANGI Malipo, Founder and Director at Work For Living ASBL. We are a refugee-led organization.

Our Journey:

We started Work For Living ASBL in 2023 in Uvira Territory, Eastern DRC. Our work was focused on educating mothers, indigenous people, and youth in vocational skills to move from dependence to self-reliance.

In December 2025, due to conflict in DRC, especially in Uvira Territory, we were forced to flee. Today we are in Busuma Camp, Burundi. Despite the challenges of displacement, we have not given up. We are rebuilding and continuing our mission, now working with both refugees and Community Host that welcomed us.

Our Reality on the Ground:

In Busuma Camp, over 80% of Refugee are youth and NEET - Not in Education, Employment, or Training. Girls are hit hardest due to 3 main gaps:

1. No digital skills or access to devices

2. No safe learning spaces

3. No clear pathway to income

As an organization, we started small initiatives to bring youth together. We train them on life skills to fight early pregnancy, plus basic English, French, and IT. But we know this alone is not enough to make them self-reliant.

My 3 Questions for the Network:

I would love to learn from your experience:

1. Pathways:

From your experience, what is the most practical next step to move NEET youth from basic training to real income and self-reliance?

2. Access: For those working in camps, what has worked to get girls safe access to internet and devices?

3. Partnership: How can a small, refugee-led organization like ours build the right partnerships and technical support to scale impact in a camp setting?

What We Can Contribute:

We bring grassroots data and lived experience from both Uvira DRC and Busuma Camp Burundi. We understand the challenges of displaced youth and are committed to sharing our lessons openly.

We are seeking technical collaboration and partnership, not just funding. We believe together we can design solutions that work.

I look forward to your insights and to learning from this Network.

Let's discuss!

MUKENGERE KIRANGI Malipo

Founder and Coordinator

Work For Living ASBL Busuma Camp, Burundi

workforlivingasbl@gmail.com

How can young people shape the evidence that informs skills and livelihoods programmes?

Join us on 26 August for a webinar showcasing youth-led research from Generation Unlimited’s University Content Collaboration (UCC) and Youth Participatory Action Research and Evaluation (YPARE) initiatives.

▪️GenU-University Content Collaboration (UCC): A research initiative in which GenU partners with university students to investigate key questions and evidence gaps in the youth skills and livelihoods space, producing actionable knowledge that informs programme design and policy.

▪️Girls' Education and Skills Partnership (GESP) - Youth Participatory Action Research and Evaluation (YPARE): Developed through GESP, YPARE positions young girls and women as experts on the issues affecting their own lives, equipping them with research skills to conduct systematic inquiry and contribute meaningfully to the design of policies, programmes, and community interventions.

Hear directly from young researchers, exchange experiences, and explore how youth-led research can strengthen MERL, programme design, and policy.

📅 26 August 2026
🕘 9:00–10:00 AM ET / 3:00–4:00 PM CEST
👉 Register Now

Speakers

🎙️Jeetwan Tripathy
Lead, MERL, UNICEF Generation Unlimited
Opening Remarks

🎙️Jiner Fan
Youth Researcher, GenU University Content Collaboration
Presenter and Panel

🎙️Boluwatife Omoniyi
GESP YPARE Researcher
Presenter and Panel

🎙️Pia Campbell
Head of International Growth & Policy, International Youth Foundation
Panel

🎙️Shaikha Al-Shaibi
Head of the Strategic Partnerships Planning and Evaluation Section, Qatar Fund for Development
Panel

🎙️Afroza Suravi
Youth leader and member of UNICEF Generation Unlimited GESP Advisory Panel, Young People's Action Team and UN Youth Advisory Group
Moderator

⚡Learn more about the event

"How did you find the webinar? Drop any questions for our speakers here — let's keep the discussion going on this topic. Our speakers are in the space to answer your questions."

Dear Youth Employment Expert Network members,

The recently concluded webinar brought together perspectives from research, policy, social protection, employment services and grassroots practice that explore:

🌍 Latest global and regional youth NEET trends
📈 What drives NEET status
⚖️ Who is most affected
🛠️ Policy and practice solutions from different contexts
💬 How the latest evidence relates to country realities

The session featured findings from the ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026 report and create space for cross-country exchange among participants.

▶️ Find in the webinar video:
00:00 — Opening of the webinar
03:08 — Opening remarks
08:40 — Global Employment Trends for Youth
35:33 — Breakout room discussion
37:18 — Video showing
40:30 — Reflection Time (interactive audience participation)
48:40 — Panel Discussion: Beyond the Numbers: Policy and Practice Solutions for Youth NEETs
01:25:28 — Key takeaways and closing

Meet our speakers:
🎙️Dorothea Schmidt-Klau, International Labour Organization — Opening Remarks
→ Opening the conversation on the challenges and responses shaping youth employment today.

🎙️ Sara Elder, International Labour Organization — Speaker
→ Presenting the latest global and regional evidence on youth NEET trends from the Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026 report.

🎙️ Pirkko Pyörälä, European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion — Panelist
→ Sharing lessons from the EU Youth Guarantee and its implementation across different country contexts.

🎙️ Christina Behrendt, International Labour Organization — Panelist
→ Exploring how social protection and income support can help young NEETs move towards decent work.

🎙️ Patrick Patriwirawan Jr, MIR, Philippine Department of Labor and Employment — Panelist
→ Sharing approaches from the Philippines to reach young NEETs, improve employability and support transitions towards decent work.

🎙️ Mamatete Bridget Letsoso, SOS Children's Villages International Lesotho — Panelist
→ Sharing grassroots approaches to reaching and supporting young NEETs facing compounding vulnerabilities.

🎙️ Chiara Curcio, International Labour Organization — Moderator
→ Moderating the exchange on policy and practice solutions for youth NEETs.

🗓️ 19 August 2026
🕥 10:30–12:00 CEST
💻 Online

Organized by the EU–ILO Network of Youth Employment Experts and hosted on the YouthForesight knowledge platform.