Context

Globally, more than 59 million young people are unemployed and nearly 136 million of those who are working continue to live in poverty. Young people are often denied decent employment opportunities or the possibility of setting up their own businesses due, for example, to skills mismatches or a lack of access to finance. Such barriers to employment and entrepreneurship stand in the way of young people applying their skills, making their voices heard, and actively shaping society, creating an environment of decent work and successful trade that works for them.

Through Kick for Trade, the project consortium of International Trade Centre,streetfootballworld, Kick4Life, FedEx Express and the UEFA Foundation for Children aims to ensure that youth are part of the game and receive the training they need to support them in their professional development and entrepreneurial aspirations.

Project content

Football offers an opportunity to engage with young adults who are far from the job market and need career guidance. Through the Kick For Trade project, the International Trade Centre plans to develop two toolkits – life skills for employability and football for entrepreneurial skills development – to address specific youth development needs among young people in and returnees to The Gambia and Guinea.

The project is aimed at young people from different backgrounds, delivering demonstrable results that move participants closer to education, training,employment and entrepreneurship.

In addition, Kick for Trade will develop the capacities of local football coaches to deliver employability and entrepreneurship curriculums included in the toolkits.

Objectives

The project aims to:

• achieve a measurable and sustainable positive social impact for young adults, helping to develop their life skills and entrepreneurial skills;
• train local football coaches to deliver life skills for employability and football for entrepreneurial skills programmes;
• demonstrate support for youth development through football in The Gambia and Guinea.

Project activities

Project activities in The Gambia

• Development of toolkits for “Life Skills for Employability” and “Football for Entrepreneurial Skill Development”
• Stakeholder event in the Gambia to introduce Football for Employability and Entrepreneurship
• Toolkit validation workshop
• Training of trainers
• Curriculum rollout
• Ongoing capacity development for local coaches

Project activities in Guinea

• Adaptation of the Kick for Trade “Life Skills for Employability” and “Football for Entrepreneurial Skill Development” toolkits
• Development of Monitoring & Evaluation Framework and progressions strategy
• Training-of Trainers (ToT) workshop to develop the capacities of life skills football coaches
• Kick For Trade curriculum roll out
• Stakeholder event in Guinea to introduce football for employability and entrepreneurship
• Ongoing capacity development for local coaches.

Expected results

• Increase in the number of young people and local football coaches engaged in the programme
• Increase in the number of young people who successfully gain skills and motivation
• Increase in the number of young people who improve their academic standing and economic well-being, and who move from education and training into employment and entrepreneurship

Partner