Fact Sheet
U.S. Agency for International Development
Washington, DC
November 14, 2006

FEATURED RESULT: The employment rate for entra 21 graduates is 48%, 8% higher than the target of 40%. Over 80% of employers said the entra 21 interns did satisfactory work and rated the youth they hired as doing very well in both soft and technical skill areas.

More than half the population in Latin American and the Caribbean is under the age of 25 and as many as two-thirds of those young people (ages 15-24) are neither enrolled in school nor able to find jobs. Even those who are able to afford an education are too often unprepared to compete for skilled jobs in the global marketplace. In contrast, the demand for a workforce skilled in information and communications technology (ICT) is strong in the region. The entra 21 Alliance endeavors to bridge the gap by offering ICT training for young people who lack the education and skills necessary to get and hold a good job.

Entra 21 is a $29-million initiative that provides youth in Latin America access to training, internships, mentoring, and placement services. The program provides disadvantaged youth with competencies in information technology, life and job seeking skills, and offers job placement services to ensure they find a decent job. Through its efforts, entra 21 helps to develop a strong and vibrant upwardly mobile and skilled workforce, which in turn will strengthen the region's incipient democracies and developing economies.

Partners
Governments: The United States of America through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Ministry of Tourism/Brazil, Municipality of Cordoba/Argentina, Youth Secretariat/Nicaragua, among others.

International Organizations: The Multilateral Investment Fund, an autonomous fund administered by the Inter-American Development Bank

Civil Society: The International Youth Foundation and 32 non-profit organizations in Latin America
Private Sector: Microsoft, Lucent Technologies, Nokia, Merrill Lynch, Gap, Nike, Telefonica, Accor Hotels, Wal-Mart, Monsanto, Shell.

For a full list of partners in supported projects, please visit: http://www.iyfnet.org/section.cfm/5/24/800

Partnership Targets
The partnership has two goals:

• To meet the fundraising targets set by the Multilateral Investment Fund and the International Youth Foundation; and
• To increase the technical and life skills of 12,000 youth and place at least 40% of them in decent employment.

Progress Toward Targets

Fundraising
The total investment is $29.3 million; $19.3 million of that total was mobilized by IYF and its partners.

ICT Training
Entra 21 grants have been awarded to 35 locally designed and executed projects in 18 countries. Grants averaging $375,000 were awarded to projects to conduct a variety of job preparedness and placement activities. Examples of supported projects include:

• A training course in the Dominican Republic reached 450 youth and placed nearly 100% in internships.
• In El Salvador, youth trained in basic applications and computer maintenance found jobs (61% working); 15% of them set up cyber-cafes and other small businesses.
• In Colombia, 454 youths gained technical skills for jobs specifically identified by local employers; of these, 47.6% found jobs, the majority in salaried employment and a handful started their own businesses. This project was supported for a second phase to reach an additional 656 youth.
• In Brazil, IYF helped the Institute of Hospitality match funding from Ministry for Tourism to expand the entra 21 project from over 500 youths in one city to 4,010 young people in 10 cities and placing 40% of them in jobs.

Youth Prepared for Labor Market and Employed
Initially the program aimed at training 12,000 disadvantaged youth; this number is now projected to reach 19,000 over the life of the project. The employment rate for entra 21 graduates is 48%, 8% higher than the target of 40%. In addition, employers' ratings of entra 21 youth are high. Over 80% of employers said the entra 21 interns did satisfactory work and rated the youth they hired as doing very well in both soft and technical skill areas. For those youth who got a job, the overwhelming majority have full-time, entry-level positions and 54% of them have permanent contracts. The rest have temporary or other types of contracts. Enrolment in some form of education also increased from 26% studying at baseline to 40% when surveyed 6 or more months after graduating. The percentage of youth who were not studying or working when they entered the project dropped to 27%. This suggests entra 21 projects motivated youth to become more active and integrated into society.

Each project is required to submit quarterly progress and financial reports, allowing the IYF to track the progress and success of each grantee. In addition IYF staff members conduct site visits and offer project-strengthening workshops; the last one in February 2006 focused on project sustainability. Through an interactive Web-based platform, IYF facilitates the sharing of documents, ideas, and updates among projects.

The partnership attracts the attention of the development community, which raises its visibility to new investors. A Stakeholder Dialogue hosted by the IDB in November 2005 was one activity organized by IYF to raise awareness about the program and this important issue. A third stakeholder event in Sao Paulo in August 2006 focused on the role of the private sector also generated greater awareness among business.

Entra 21 was one of several IYF information technology related programs highlighted at the First World Summit on Information Societies that was held in Geneva, Switzerland in December 2003. It also is highlighted in the 2007 World Development Report released by the World Bank in September 2006.

Next Steps
USAID will collaborate with the MIF/IDB on an evaluation of the entra 21 program which is scheduled to begin October 2006. IYF also is in the process of designing a second phase of entra 21 to build on the success and lessons learned gained from this program. The new program, to be rolled out in the first quarter of 2007, will focus on projects that can be scaled up to reach more youth and employers and create a platform for sustaining these services over time. It also will target more vulnerable youth such as those living in rural areas and urban youth from low-income neighborhoods that have not completed high school. In November 2006, the governing committee of the Multilateral Investment Fund of the IADB is expected to approve a grant of $10 million, followed by another $10 million in early 2007. These funds will be matched by IYF through program sponsors such as USAID, the Caterpillar Foundation, Nokia, and others.

Resources
In response to the on-going workforce crisis in the LAC region, the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) invested $10 million in this regional program on the condition it be matched by the International Youth Fund (IYF) This goal was exceeded as IYF mobilized approximately $19.3 million. USAID provided $3 million to the IYF to meet this challenge. Together the MIF, the IYF and USAID have jointly launched this innovative program.

U.S. Government Primary Point of Contact
U.S. Agency for International Development: Edgar Thornton, Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade (Phone: 202-712-5867; E-mail: ethornton@usaid.gov).

Websites:
http://www.iyfnet.org/section.cfm/5/24/800

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