Youth employment is one of the greatest challenges and opportunities facing the African continent. Given the complexity and scale of the challenge, proximal leaders need a place to share their successes and challenges and learn from each other. Umsizi's Youth Employability Peer Learning Network, formed in 2016, hosts monthly discussions and helps connect leading practitioners to each other. The challenges they are facing today drive the agenda and content for the calls. The network also encourages members to develop stronger relationships across the youth employment ecosystem including the private sector, government and the education system to lead to collaborations to drive increased impact.

Example topics have included: Blended Learning, Demonstrating Return on Investment to Employers, and Partnering with TVETs.

Peer Learning Network Participants

Our core members are leaders of the African-based education to employment system because they focus on impact through partnerships. Characteristics include:

1. Income generation and dignity: they develop pathways to income generation for youth not training or education alone. Most members are working to get youth placed in formal employment. However, given the small size of formal work in these economies, there is increased interest in pathways to successful micro enterprises and gig work.

2. Demand driven - they use data to determine where the job growth is; work in partnership with employers to ensure that skills training programs meet employer demands and that trainees are matched to paying jobs after their training programs

3. Systems influencers - they actively work across the youth employment ecosystem with local and national governments and employers and industry associations to drive system level impact in a given geography.

4. Tech enabled - they work with tech partners or develop tools to migrate their programs to a digital world. For example, offering online or blended programs, teaching digital skills, or using job platforms and online assessment tools.