UYEP Background
The National Government’s Medium Term Development Strategy (MTDS) prioritizes a number economic growth and social development activities that include young people as beneficiaries. The recent adoption of the National Youth Policy (NYP) reaffirms the increasing importance the State is placing on youth development in its national development planning. The Government has also recognized the importance of general education, skills training, life skills training and transition to gainful employment. For the last ten years, a number of youth programs have been funded and implemented in both urban and rural environments.
Government of PNG has been aware of the risks and costs associated with social alienation and high rates of urban unemployment among urban youth for some time. Young people under the age of 20 account for almost half of the PNG’s total population; and they comprise a significantly disproportionate part of the urban poor. In Port Moresby, youth between the ages of 15 and 29 constitute about 35.1% of the total population. The Government has undertaken a number of measures to address youth poverty and exclusion, including development of a National Youth Policy, increased focus on education, and a number of innovative urban safety initiatives.
The Government’s National Youth Policy (NYP, 2007-2017) contains nine key policy directions: (i) improving the quality of life for young people to alleviate poverty; (ii) accessing integrated education to address illiteracy and school dropouts; (iii) nurturing sustainable livelihoods for youth; (iv) promoting healthy lifestyles to address health related issues including the HIV/AID’s among youth and promote sports development; (v) building stronger communities that involve young people as partners; (vi) strengthening institutional capacity to promote youth development; (vii) promoting youth and their identity through languages, culture and traditions; (viii) conducting research and data collection on youth; and (ix) promoting youth participation in law and justice programs. Implementation of the National Youth Policy rests with relevant sector ministries.
While the National Youth Policy was announced by the Prime Minister and endorsed by the National Executive Council (NEC) in 2008, there has been insufficient budget allocated to operationalizing the Policy in order for it to become effective, and as a result, none of the planned youth initiatives have been of sufficient scale.
The UYEP would therefore help the Government implement key elements (i), (ii), (iii), (vii) and (viii) of the Policy stated in (2) above, with a particular focus on the labor force integration of economically disadvantaged youth in the National Capital District (NCD); provide a platform to effectively manage the rapidly increasing, and youth-led, rural to urban migration; and visibly increase its outreach to disadvantaged groups. The Project is also expected to support the Government’s Medium Term Development Strategy priorities of the rehabilitation and maintenance of transport infrastructure; promotion of income earning opportunities; and the development-oriented informal adult education.
NCDC held extensive discussions with various donor agencies including UNDP and World Bank and the World Bank came forward to evaluate the proposal. World Bank sent three missions so far to finalize the project structure and documentation.
UYEP Design Process
The design of the UYEP has been informed by extensive consultations within Government since mid-2008. Key participants in these discussions have been the Departments of Planning, Labor & Industrial Relations (DoLIR), Community Development, Provincial and Local Government Affairs, National Youth Commission, NCDC, National Training Council and the National Trade and Testing and Apprenticeship Boards and Word Bank. These consultations have culminated in formal letters of support from the Department of Community Development’s National Youth Commission; and the Departments for Local Level & Provincial Government and Works.
In addition, there have been a number of consultations with youth groups, communities, advocacy organizations and Provincial Youth Councils in the NCD and Morobe during the UYEP planning processes, including: Leadership PNG, PNG Coalition for Youth Advocacy, Igat Hope, The Voice, Youth Against Corruption, Young Women’s Christian Association, City Mission, Ginigoada Foundation, Save the Children and the Catholic Church Archdiocese, among others.
The design has also benefited from the experience NCDC, NYC, National Youth Service and a number of civil society organizations have gained from the implementation of various youth and urban safety initiatives (e.g., NCDC’s Yumi Lukautim Mosbi), skills training activities (e.g., National Youth Service’s Self Employment Scheme), and labor-intensive urban public works (e.g., NYC’s Youth Pioneer Scheme) in the last five years.
Project Description
Objectives of UYEP
The primary objectives of the UYEP are to provide youths with income from temporary employment opportunities; and to increase youth employability.
The secondary objectives are to successfully target the disadvantaged youths in reducing participant’s crime-related activities and increasing their future aspirations.
Project Components
The Project would include three components:
1) Youth Job Corps (YJC);
2) Skills Development and Employment Scheme (SDES), and
3) Project Management.
The Project would focus on disadvantaged urban youth between the ages of 16 and 25 that neither work nor study and who have limited social and economic opportunities, including inter alia: a) those that have never accessed or not completed the formal school system; and b) those that may have completed their formal education but have still not been integrated into the labor market. The reasons for targeting these two segments are as follows:
Segment 1: Youth who are neither working nor studying and who have not completed secondary school/higher studies frequently lack the basic life skills and employment experience to escape poverty. The Project would give such youth a second chance by equipping them with basic skills and placing them in a more productive environment. Similar programs in other countries have demonstrated that such programs, when well targeted and implemented, can have a bridging effect, helping to reduce youth poverty and supporting their acquisition of basic life skills required in the work place.
Segment 2: There is a need to provide more advanced training and employment options to slightly more skilled and educated youth who have not yet been able to access the labor market. While the first component would focus on creating temporary jobs along with basic life skills training; the second component would seek to enhance the skills and competitiveness of semi-skilled young workers for entry level employment.
The combination of these two program components would a) allow the Project to test the impact of different interventions and approaches on the labor market; and b) increase the potential for sustainability by giving participants under Component 1 the opportunity to transition into Component 2.
Component 1: Youth Job Corps.
This component will support: i) the identification and selection of about 17,500 disadvantaged, unemployed youth from the NCD area; ii) life skills for employment training; and iii) public works job placement training. These youth will complete basic life skills for employment training before undertaking a two month work placement on a public works sub-project.
The YJC will provide trainees with a 40 hour Basic Life Skills for Employment training. The training will develop trainee’s life skills and understanding of the working environment; appropriate “on the job” behavior; personal presentation, health and hygiene, and attitudes and working as a team. Trainees undertaking the Basic Life Skills for Employment training will be further assessed and counseled, as required to ensure that training content, support materials and delivery are appropriate and that a better understanding of trainees’ socio-economic profile, skills, previous experience and aspirations is developed. Following the training, each trainee will undergo a basic numeracy/literacy test, which will help to better determine their work placement options. In addition, trainees will be given basic financial literacy training prior to setting up their own bank accounts.
The Project will work with the NCDC to secure job placement opportunities for public works trainees. The scope of work for this component has been selected in accordance with the needs of the NCD’s road network, and will focus on simple road maintenance activities, including vegetation control and drain cleaning. Roads that are not currently being maintained either under the NCDC funded programs. Currently there are about 900 kilometers of roads that are not receiving routine maintenance in the NCD.
Each trainee will be expected to complete 2 months of unskilled, work placement training. The Project will compensate trainees up to a maximum 6 hours per day for 39 days of work.
Component 2: Skills Development and Employment Scheme (SDES).
This component will provide On-the-Job Training (OJT) and work experience for around 4000 participating youth. Given the higher participant costs and the limited absorption capacity of the private sector to support such a program, it is anticipated that approximately 4,000 youth in the NCD would be able to benefit from this more intensive training assistance. They will be placed in both public and private firms. The SDES will consist of two Pre-Employment Training (PET) programs followed by On-the-Job Training (OJT). One of the PET programs will provide opportunities for about 2,000 youth and focus on trade, industrial and commerce related employment. The other will provide opportunities for another 2,000 youth and focus on basic bookkeeping, data entry, business practices and information technology.
Once selected, each trainee will enter a 20 day (240 hour) pre-employment training program. This program will be designed to provide basic information and skills that are required to join public or private sector firms as trainees. The training program will consist of the following types of training elements: a) Basic literacy, b) Basic numeracy and shop mathematics (e.g.; measurement skills; reading mechanical/civil drawings and sketches; personal finances -handling money - personal and on the job; importance of saving), c) Expectations of employers, d) Use of timecards and other work time documentation, e) On the job relations with co-workers supervisors and employers, f) Work safety; g) Orientation to the use of hand tools and/or office equipment; h) Creativity and innovation on the job; and i) How to stay employed, and j) What makes a successful employee.
Following the successful completion of the above training program, trainees will be placed in an OJT program with an employer in the NCD area. OJT participating employers will have the option of employing the respective trainees, either full or part time, or releasing them to seek employment elsewhere. During the OJT, each trainee will be expected to complete 20 days of pre-employment training prior to commencing their 5 months of work placement training. Trainees will be paid by the PMU who will keep appropriate time and performance records for later project reimbursement of some or all of these costs. The Project will compensate trainees up to a maximum of 8 hours per day for 20 days of training followed by a 110 days of work. Payments to trainees will be facilitated through a SMS banking platform.
At the completion of training, trainees will receive a competency-based certificate from the NCDC which will specify the types and levels of skills that the trainee has attained. The employer and the PMU will sign each certificate. This gives certification to each trainee that should have value as he/she seeks employment with other firms. In addition, each completing trainee will have the option to take the certification examinations offered by the National Skills Testing Board (NTSB) if such certification is available in their area of skill and employment.
Component 3: Project Management.
The component will finance the PMU’s incremental operating costs, goods and staffing for the PMU, training of key personnel, technical assistance and other Project support costs. This component will strengthen the capacity of the Project Management Unit (PMU) and contractors in the public and private sectors to: i) plan, oversee and implement demand-driven labor market insertion programs targeted towards vulnerable urban youth; and ii) monitor and evaluate the Project’s implementation. In addition, grievance and complaints handling mechanisms would be established to ensure effective trainee participation.
Implementation Arrangements
The NCDC will serve as the Project’s Implementing Agency and assume responsibility for management, coordination and performance of the Project and its components. A Project Management Unit (PMU) will be established within NCDC, which is already managing a number of youth and urban safety initiatives. The PMU will be managed by a team of full time staff, including some technical assistance from local and foreign consultants. A Project Steering Committee (PSC) consisting of key Government agencies, private sector and civil society stakeholders will oversee implementation of the UYEP. The role of the PSC would be to provide guidance on policy matters, quality control for work programs and budgets and to facilitate critical decisions for the implementation of the Project components.
Budget & FMS
The Project will be financed by the World Bank through the IDA credit in the equivalent amount of around US$15 million. Total Project costs are estimated at US$17.5 million including contingencies. Additional financing includes: the GoPNG/NCDC (US$1.5 million) and the Republic of Korea (US$600,000). While the IDA credit of around US$15 million is repayable under negotiated terms with interest, the Korean Trust Fund of US$600,000 is a grant.
There are two financing agreements for the Project: 1) a Korean Trust Fund Grant Agreement for US$600,000. This grant agreement has been signed in October 2009 by the Minister for Finance and Treasury and the World Bank; and 2) an IDA Credit to be negotiated with the World Bank to the amount of around $15 million.
Project Documents:
Please click the respective documents to download the projects preparatory documents:
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