The International Youth Foundation joins the Learning and Knowledge Development Facility

The Project Steering Committee of the Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF) approved the International Youth Foundation (IYF) as the newest member of the Facility. Founded in 1990, IYF’s mission is to prepare young people to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. IYF was founded on the notion that a wealth of knowledge about effective youth development programs exists in the world, but far too few youth-serving organizations benefit from such expertise because of scarce resources and a lack of sustained, coordinated action.

IYF identifies what works in youth development, brings it to scale, and “makes the case” for youth to the broadest possible audience. In doing so, IYF works closely with key stakeholders in government, businesses, and communities to target the specific needs of youth, and to develop programs that are responsive to the identified needs.

IYF employability programs help economically disadvantaged youth acquire the technical and job readiness skills they need to earn a decent living in a market economy.  IYF works with companies and training partners to provide youth with a continuum of services that prepare them for jobs and successful careers.

“IYF carries out skills training programs for youth in a number of sectors. Through the LKDF, we hope to share the lessons learned from our work in implementing demand-driven skills training and employment programs and to learn from the experience of others.” says Peter Shiras, Vice President for Business Development of the International Youth Foundation.

The International Youth Foundation will contribute to the Learning and Knowledge Development Facility by sharing their experience related to quality standards in implementing workforce training programs, building the capacity of TVET systems, integrating soft skills into training programs and building public-private partnerships.

The Learning and Knowledge Development Facility is run by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). It brings together companies, vocational training centres, development agencies and donors to facilitate knowledge sharing on innovative public-private development partnership approaches in industrial skills development. Members of the Facility include Volvo, Festo, Scania, Sida, the Swedish Academy of Training, Selam Vocational Training Center and UNIDO.

 

For further information, please contact:

Virpi Stucki, UNIDO Project Manager

Peter Shiras, IYF Executive Vice President, Business Development