Employing youth by providing vocational training NRC

The project achieved its main objectives and had a significant impact on the target communities. Key results include promoting the employability and entrepreneurship of 1,693 young people aged 15 to 24, compared to the initial target group of 1,868. This represents an achievement rate of over 90%, with a high participation rate of 59.2% among young women, in a context marked by challenges such as COVID19, insecurity, conflict, and flooding (in Uvira, for example). 1,693 young people, including 1,024 women, completed a six month training in sewing, auto mechanics, electricity, soap making, hospitality, and carpentry at vocational training centers, followed by two months of internships in mechanics workshops and micro and small businesses. The career fairs organized by NRC allowed beneficiaries to choose their careers with the support of the INPP, the FEC, and COPEMECO at the provincial level. 1,693 beneficiaries (677 M/1,016 F), or 90.6% (36.2% M/54.4% F), reached the start-up phase of economic activities. On this basis, kits consisting of materials and working capital according to the profession, previously negotiated with vocational training centers and mentors, and with the participation of the beneficiaries, were made available to the young people. To support and facilitate the professional integration process, a support program based on psychological support, coaching, and mentoring was implemented for the beneficiaries, with a view to meeting the real needs of the young people. This was made possible through the flexibility of this program because the aspects of psychological support, coaching, and mentoring were not initially planned in this project but added throughout as the needs became evident. This is part of Sweden's added value in helping partners strengthen the sustainability of youth economic activities. The June 2023 evaluation report indicates that 100% of surveyed young people were satisfied with the transparency of beneficiary selection. Through a conflict sensitive analysis developed by NRC the identification and selection of beneficiaries in the three project intervention areas (Butembo, Kananga, and Uvira) was done in a way that anticipated and prevented conflict using transparent and participatory beneficiary targeting mechanisms. Without these mechanisms, the agents assigned to this activity could risk selecting beneficiaries who did not meet the eligibility criteria or who did not have priority needs, which would reduce the effectiveness and the participatory and inclusive nature of the project. The impact of the intervention demonstrated the following: 79% of the young people surveyed (83% of boys and 78% of girls) confirmed that the income from their businesses had contributed to improving their living conditions and also to the overall household income Social inclusion and gender equality through support for women (59.2% of the target group) by encouraging them to create their own microenterprises and become leaders in their communities and community participation to ensure better ownership and sustainability of the initiatives of young women and boys Involvement of beneficiaries in community engagement activities The establishment of resource centers as a framework of opportunities to strengthen the partnership between stakeholders in vocational training and the socioeconomic integration of young people and support for entrepreneurial initiatives and satisfaction from parents, communities, local leaders and municipal and provincial authorities.

The project "Supporting Youth in Transitioning to Livelihood Opportunities in the DRC" aims to help young people become active and engaged members of their communities and receive support to make the transition to livelihoods. Three geographical areas will be targeted by the project: Kananga (Kasaï Central), Butembo (Grand North Kivu), and Uvira (South Kivu), for a three (3) year project that will benefit 1,800 young people directly (50% women, 50% men), and 10,800 dependents and family members who will benefit economically from the training of their youth family members. The project will have three cycles, with 200 young people trained in each geographical area each year of the project. This project will support young people's access to employment by connecting them to training centers, private businesses and mentoring and entrepreneurship opportunities. NRC will help create an environment conducive to youth employment; this will involve filling knowledge gaps, providing practical training opportunities, and addressing the structural challenges that young people often face in getting a job or starting their own business. To this end, NRC will focus its efforts around three specific objectives:1. Young people develop and use fundamental, transferable and technical skills;2. Young people apply acquired skills in viable economic activities; and3. Education professionals have the knowledge and skills to provide quality training and support. This project leads to the short-term outcomes of literate youth with business skills and the knowledge necessary to create or access business opportunities and education professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide quality training and support to youth. This leads to medium-term results that enable young people to engage in viable economic activities, with the long-term result that young people become active and engaged members of their communities. To achieve this, NRC plans to support existing vocational training structures and establish a network of contacts between private companies and young people. NRC will implement this project in partnership with the Federation of Enterprises of Congo (FEC) and youth training centers (TVET) in Butembo, Uvira and Kananga. In addition, at the provincial level NRC will coordinate with the Division of Social Affairs (DIVAS), the Division of Youth (Divijeunesse) and the National Institute of Professional Preparation (INPP). Conflict resolution in Tanganyika The project aims at restoring social cohesion, preventing and addressing disputes that have constituted a major factor in opposing communities and that have caused displacement for several years in Tanganyika. The province is affected by a historical conflict between the Twa and Bantu communities, worsened by forced displacement. Violence between farmers and herders on the one hand, conflicts between Twa and Bantu pygmy communities on the other, as well as disputes between IDPs and host communities are recurrent. NRC seeks to address to the extent possible some of the root causes of these conflicts between communities and of the disputes between individuals with a tailored intervention methodology based on an in-depth understanding of the conflicts and disputes. The main objective will be: NRC intends to contribute to the humanitarian efforts to stabilize the Tanganyika region by offering services that promote social cohesion, improve living conditions and enhance livelihood opportunities in the places of return for IDPs. The project will be implemented during June 2021 to May 2022 and aims to capitalize on good practices and lessons learnt from the 3-year Humanitarian Mediation (HM) Sida-funded project implemented in Kasai, Tanganyika and Ituri (ending in March 2021). The project seeks to promote peace, dialogue and social cohesion through various methodologies as deemed appropriate after conflict analysis. Method and capacity support through INGO forum  INGO-forum in the DRC is an independent forum of INGOs, working to address the needs of the vulnerable people in the DRC and provide a platform for its members to strengthen the coordination, share information and expertise, and address key issues of common interest via collective advocacy action, notably related to humanitarian access, humanitarian and development nexus, visibility/funding for the DRC.  The support from the Swedish Embassy will contribute to further reinforcing the impact and efficiency of humanitarian and recovery aid delivery in the DRC through INGO’s enhanced coordination and common positionning, where nexus coordination will be an important component. In addition to Sweden, the INGO forum is also funded by ECHO, SDC and INGOs. Sweden intends to support INGO forum during the period of June 2021 to May 2022.