Economic Inclusion and Resilience of NEET Youth (EARN), Bangladesh
The EARN project aims to promote economic inclusion of youth who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) in Bangladesh, especially in the rural areas. Its goals are to increase access to relevant education and skills training, improve employability (including entrepreneurship), particularly for women and other disadvantaged groups, and build resilience among NEET youth to help them transition into productive, decent jobs. The project integrates support across education, training, psychosocial aspects, and market linkages to address the multiple barriers that NEET youth face.
Five-Axis Transformation via EARN
Data: The project uses data to identify youth who are NEET, disaggregated by gender and geography; monitors labour demand and skills gaps; tracks participation, outcomes in training/employment; evaluates progress in closing gender and rural-urban inclusion gaps.
Capacity Building / Technical Assistance: Support is provided to establishing or strengthening vocational training centres, enhancing teachers/trainers, integrating socio-emotional skills & entrepreneurship training, and helping institutions improve delivery of second-chance education options for school drop-outs.
Technology / Machinery: The project supports infrastructure improvements in training centres (e.g. youth training centres), possibly equipping them with tools for online/offline learning and modern, market-relevant trades and equipment. (Also includes renewable energy installations for some training centres to ensure functional infrastructure.)
Finance: Includes financing for stipends, examination fees, textbooks or learning materials; seed finance, mentorship and support for entrepreneurship among youth; possibly competitive financing options for income-earning or self-employment activities.
Policy: The programme works with government bodies to strengthen youth policy frameworks, inclusion of NEET in national education and employment planning, gender responsiveness, better coordination among ministries. It also encourages positive social norms, community engagement, and awareness-raising to reduce exclusion.
Strategic Impact & Value Proposition
Inclusive Job Creation: Enabling large numbers of rural NEET youth, especially women, to access training and employment leads to more inclusive workforce participation.
Reduced Inequality & Social Norms Barriers: By focusing on underserved groups and promoting enabling environments, the project helps overcome social, gender, and location-based inequities.
Enhanced Employability & Entrepreneurship: Combining skills training, mentorship, and market linkages enhances youth capacity to enter wage employment or start small enterprises.
Education Continuity for Drop-outs: Provides second-chance education paths for school dropouts to resume learning and gain credentials, helping them climb the skills ladder.
Strengthened Institutional Capacity & Coordination: Through building up training centres, enhancing public agencies’ capacity, and coordinating across various sectors (education, youth, gender), the programme promotes sustainable mechanisms for youth inclusion.