In June 2004, the GE Foundation launched with the International Youth Foundation the GE Foundation Life Skills for Employability Program.

The goal of the program is to improve the life skills and employability prospects for youth, ages 14-24, in Hungary, India, Mexico, and Poland through an innovative, scalable application of the GE Foundation Life Skills for Employability Program. The program targets youth who are either in school but at risk of dropping out, or are out of the school, or working in dangerous environments, including on the street.

Key activities include:

• Curriculum development
• Youth educator/teacher training
• Pilot implementation
• GE volunteer engagement
• Technical assistance to partner NGOs

The initial phase of this program took place from 2004 to 2006 in India and Mexico, supported with a US$1.2 million grant from the GE Foundation. The second phase, from 2006 to 2008, is being implemented in Hungary and Poland, through a US$1.8 million grant from the GE Foundation.

IYF’s in-country partner organizations, Youthreach (India), Fundación Rostros y Voces (Mexico), Foundation for Democratic Youth (Hungary), and the Polish Children and Youth Foundation (Hungary) manage the program on the ground, working closely with experts to design the curriculum and with local youth-serving organizations who teach the learning activities. GE volunteers from local offices are actively involved as advisors to the curriculum’s development and to community service projects young people develop as part of the program.

The program aims to help young people strengthen such personal competencies as communications, building self confidence, making-decisions, and setting goals. They learn about good nutrition, drug use prevention, and communicable diseases. The program also helps young people develop skills required for successful employment including effective work habits, teamwork and cooperation, and financial literacy. As part of the service-learning component, young people, with guidance from YSO and GE volunteers, are asked to plan and implement community-based projects to address community problems – with an emphasis on serving younger children.

Success Story

Read how the GE Foundation Life Skills for Employability Program positively impacted Miguel's life.