Economic Opportunities

HIRES is a pilot initiative that resettles refugee youth who currently live in Kenya through a unique private sponsorship pathway that partners with Canadian businesses. This pathway involves vocational training and an employment placement upon arrival. Both, responding to persistent barriers to economic inclusion facing refugee populations and supporting Canadian employers to meet labour market…

Many of our international partners have been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially true in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Vietnam where WUSC had planned to mobilize more than 200 volunteers this year to support partners in their efforts toward the creation of more resilient and inclusive economies. With office closures and…

 By Alyssa McDonald, WAGES Communications Advisor Volunteer, Ghana Businesses all over the world have felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – and Ghana is no exception. To stop the initial spread of the virus, government-mandated lockdowns were put in place, borders were closed, markets were shut down, and Ghanaian businesses and livelihoods were affected.…

What is World Youth Skills Day? World Youth Skills Day highlights the importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship, as well as recognizing the important role of skilled youth in addressing current and future global challenges. This year, World Youth Skills Day takes place in a difficult context. The COVID-19 pandemic…

How Employers and Training Centres can Navigate Together the Challenges of COVID-19 Globally, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates there are more than 64 million unemployed young people around the world, with a further 145 million youth working but living in poverty. Many sectors in many countries, including healthcare, construction, and automotive technologies, are experiencing rapid…

Samya Al-Qudah, a recent graduate of the WUSC-supported Healthcare Support Worker program, tells us how proud she was when she helped her friend, who had been in critical condition, walk again. Samya is an example of the high return on investment in women’s education in Jordan. “I am proud of myself,” Samya says. “There is…

By Nadeesha Jayasinghe, Uniterra Volunteer, Lanka Impact Investing Network, Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises contribute to 45% of GDP. Yet, only 25% of entrepreneurs are women. Low confidence, limited access to credit, and lack of financial literacy are some of the barriers which contribute to low representation of women’s entrepreneurship. Here is the…

The story of Sondas Bashiri Each day, Sondas Bashiri looks forward to attending the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) in her hometown of Irbid, Jordan. Here, she is enrolled in the Medical Office Assistant (MOA) program. Upon graduating from the program, she wants to work in medical administration. Prior to enrolling in this program, Sondas worked…

Tourism is an important economic driver in Vietnam, one that currently employs close to two million workers and contributes 10% to national GDP. With the right skill set, workers in the tourism sector have the potential to earn wages that are double the national average. Unfortunately, the vast majority of young graduates are underqualified and…

Although Mongolia is the second largest cashmere producer in the world, after China, the Mongolian fibre sector is facing challenges in growth — one of the key constraints being the dramatic decrease of newcomers to the workforce in recent years.  In 2015, 65 percent of the fibre sector workforce was under the age of 35 — some…