Youth Employment Programs - Independent Evaluation Group

Figure D.3% of operationswith interventions9080706050403020100TechnicalskillsSkills Trained through Projects, by Intervention CategoryEntrepreneurialBasicskillsSource: IEG portfolio review based on World Bank data.Note: IT= information technology.Fostering job creation/work opportunities (I) (n = 53)School to work transition and job mobility (L) (n = 74)Skill development and labor market relevance of skills (E) (n = 76)IT skillsSoftskillsEnglishEconomic and Sector Work on Youth EmploymentThe World Bank has undertaken analysis and promoted knowledge sharingto encourage youth employment and skills building. Between 2001 and2011, World Bank teams prepared 34 pieces of economic and sector work andcarried out 25 technical assistance activities related to “improving labormarket outcomes.” Most of this work (85 percent) was done after 2006. For thepurpose of this evaluation, 21 ESW products with a youth employment focuswere reviewed, all of them published since 2005. 3 (See appendix B for thelist of 21 ESW products included). The Bank spent $4.4 million on 18 of thesereports. 4 The average cost of these studies was about $245,000 each, and theytook 12 to 24 months (depending on the need for additional surveys) to gofrom concept note to distribution to the government.The ESW products were reviewed with respect to four dimensions:• Strategic relevance comprising timeliness, government ownership andstrategic coherence;• Quality of contextual and diagnostic analysis including coverage of relevantfactors, data, hypotheses testing, and clarity of presentation;• Quality of conclusions and recommendations for youth employment withregard to macroeconomic conditions, the investment climate, labor marketinstitutions, education, and social protection; and• Dialogue and dissemination, including consultation with stakeholders,public availability of the report and national awareness, and the degreeof follow-up.Appendix D: The World Bank Portfolio for Youth Employment 117