SCJ, World Bank offer $ 2.75m grant for supporting rural youth in Mongolia

03 / 10 / 2019

By Marwa Nassar - -

Save the Children Japan (SCJ) and the World Bank offered a $2.75 million grant for a project to support vulnerable youth in rural Mongolia.

The project – funded by the Government of Japan under the Japan Social Development Fund and managed by the World Bank—will help youth in disadvantaged rural communities gain the skills and competencies needed for success in school and in the labor market.

Despite increased educational attainment in Mongolia, vulnerable youth in rural areas who are at risk of or have already dropped out of school continue to face challenges entering the labor market. This happens both due to limited job opportunities, as well as their lack of the technical and socioemotional skills needed for successful careers and self-employment. Socioemotional skills include self-management, goal orientation, personal responsibility, and decision-making.

The project will address these gaps by improving the quality and relevance of training for rural youth through a school-based, community-driven program focused on fostering entrepreneurship and facilitating better linkages between youth and potential markets and industries.

“By offering training and the opportunity to practice what they have learned in classrooms, the project will help rural youth improve their academic performance and enhance their future career prospects by preparing them for a labor market,” said Andrei Mikhnev, World Bank Country Manager for Mongolia.

With support from the World Bank, SCJ will implement the project in 25 of Mongolia’s poorest rural districts across five provinces targeting at least 6,000 in-school and out-of-school rural youth. In addition, a small grant scheme will enable the youth who complete the course to apply the acquired skills by harnessing unexploited local business and community needs.

Furthermore, the project will help strengthen the policy environment that supports entrepreneurship education through evidence-based advocacy and public outreach campaigns.