Youth Solidarity and Civic Engagement Program for Local Development (YOSCELD)

Population growth and recent demographic changes in Africa draw sharp development focus on critical issues relating to job creation for youth. With almost 200 million people aged between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world and by 2040 Africa’s labor force will be 1 billion making it the largest in the world; surpassing both China and India (McKinsey Global Institute, 2010).

However, youth Unemployment falls among the many of Cameroons’ development challenges

According to ILO (2013), unemployment and underemployment rates in Cameroon were 30% & 75% respectively
The government, the highest formal employer, employs barely 2% of the labor force.
Over 95% of young graduates have very little or no information programs to address unemployment

Unemployment is triggered by the following causes:

Mismatch of training and employment requirements for the job market
Lack of skills and experiences
Poor transition in the labor market as more employers now prefer less educated but skilled workers leading to certificate inflation
Discrimination in the labor market;
Poor information dissemination about job opportunities

Effects

Consequently, social ills like sex work (Prostitution), high crime waves, and Cybercrimes (scammers) have increased furthermore,
Prisons have, moreover, become crowded by many so-called ‘third generation’ social ills.
These youths are pushed into doing all these due to the growing rate of unemployment

Solution

We believe that we can address this problem in a very innovative way and as a solution, I-GLOBE is introducing the Youth Solidarity and Civic Engagement Program for Local Development (YSCELD) which is a new approach to tackling these problems as follows:

Digitizing the employment system to facilitate the recruitment process with digital tools such as Digital Job manager, Digital Resume manager, Digital application manager, and Digital recruitment manager.
Collaborate with stakeholders and policymakers, to introduce and implement holidays job, internships,s, and voluntary services to create and facilitate a smooth transition to full-time employment

Mission

Project description

YOSCELD Program has a mission to Raise the Value and set the standard for the labor force to promote the creation of Decent Jobs, inclusive and enhanced productive employment to drive Rapid Economic Growth for Sustainable Development

Goal

Goal1# Develop and maintain a highly experienced and skilled employment-ready workforce for Cameroon

Goal #2 Create a smooth transition to Decent Work/Full-time Employment from:

Holidays Job
Internship
Voluntary service
Part-time/freelance

Objectives/milestones

Milestone #1 Engage policymakers and stakeholders to build relationships and understand the immediate and future needs of the workforce in Cameroon
Milestone #2 Facilitate collaboration and foster partnerships with institutions partners, businesses, and companies to build a shared vision and strategy
Milestone #3 fosters skill development, career paths, and job-matching experience for job seekers, through holidays Job, internships, and Volunteering, to build a highly productive employment portfolio for the job market
Milestone #4 Develop Technology that collects, analyzes, and utilizes data for informed decision making and continuous improvement of career development, decent work, and enhanced productive employment in Cameroon

Outcomes:

Outcome #1 Stakeholders and policymakers are aware of the immediate and future needs of the workforce in Cameroon
Outcome #2 Strategic Partnerships established with a shared vision to enhance productive employment and decent jobs in Cameroon
Outcome #3 Barriers to employment for both businesses /companies and job seekers reduced
Outcome #4 Policymakers furnished with employment Intelligence information for better programming

Milestone #4: Technology Development plan:

The 4^th milestone of the YOSCELD Program has been the first to be achieved with the designing and putting in place of the EIV PORTAL, which is Technology for Employment Planning and Recruitment Management.

The value of this platform is estimated to be over 51.5 million FCFA from the 3750 hours of development work valued at $25 (13,750) per hour.

Milestone 1# and #2: Which involves the mobilization of stakeholders and Partnerships.

The 1st and the 2nd milestones of the YOSCELD which target the mobilization of stakeholders and partnership development towards a shared vision shall be achieved through the framework of the National Youth Employment Forum (NYEF), that we are currently working to organize