EMpower and Credit Suisse host Learning Exchange in Jakarta: Gaining Access to Decent and Skilled Work

Posted 18 January 2019 in EMpower News, Grantee Partner News   |   Share

From November 27-29, 2018 in Jakarta, EMpower organized and facilitated a Learning Exchange in partnership with Credit Suisse titled “Access to Decent and Skilled Work,” for grantee partners that utilize Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in their work empowering youth.

Seventeen participants from 10 EMpower and Credit Suisse local grantee partners attended the exchange, who implement vocational training programs for at-risk young people in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and India.

The organizations represented at the exchange were Friends International, Red Nose Foundation, ROLE Foundation, Passerelles Numériques Philippines, ZOTO (Zone One Tondo), Foundation of Goodness, KOTO (Know One Teach One), REACH, Azad Foundation and Medha.

The young circus group from EMpower grantee partner Red Nose Foundation also put on a great show during a dinner, setting the tone for the workshop!

The objectives of the three-day exchange were to:

· Enable partners to share best practices, learning and program ideas around TVET programming and focus on strategies to strengthen each other’s work

· Share international evidence from research on effective TVET programming and best practices to strengthen programs and ensure their optimal relevance and effectiveness

· Strengthen partners’ monitoring and evaluation ability with regards to their TVET programs

· Emphasize key concepts related to TVET programming (e.g. related to life/soft skills) with a keen focus on gender throughout

The agenda for the workshop was personalized to address the existing strengths and needs of the participants. It covered topics such as methods for successfully recruiting young trainees and teachers, developing quality curricula for life skills, strengthening alumni to help future graduates, and ways to create networks of employers and funders.

The participatory exchange allowed space for healthy and insightful discussions.

After the workshop, one participant shared:

“I wanted to send my warmest thanks to all of you. It was very rich, inspiring and valuable because:

You had prepared with great care and a very unique ability to understand our ways of doing, our expectations and our needs. You gave all participants the chance to share very concretely about their daily experiences and challenges, which was a motivation booster. You helped us step back and reflect on our assets, our evolution, by observing and learning about other associations’ journey, mission and model. This is an inspiration. You shared valuable theoretical insights. You brought to us an amazing network.”

Thank you to each participant, whose shared experiences and expertise will help empower youth more effectively through vocational training, and to our co-funder Credit Suisse, whose support made the Learning Exchange possible!