Skills and Work

Her next step

Girls have big goals for their futures. Too often, they don’t have the resources, networks, agency and access to pursue them.

Plan International USA focuses on building peer networks, developing self-confidence and preparing young women and girls for professional careers of their choice.

Our Skills & Work programs engage girls, young women and young men from marginalized backgrounds to make informed choices for their successful transition to adulthood. The results of their economic independence are greater control over their personal lives and financial resources, more economically-resilient families and societies and long-term community investment.

Plan’s programming approach is girl-centered and strives to be girl-led, because we believe that girls are our most important and valued partners in driving program design and content. Girls are eager to learn about career options and the steps they need to take to reach their professional goals, knowing that they can rely on Plan as a trusted ally and coach to help them navigate challenges along the way to achieving their goals. The best way to identify the challenges that girls and young women face and define the path forward is to ask the experts: the girls themselves.

Your impact in

Skills & Work

1.3 million: girls with improved skills and work opportunities.
6.7 million: people reached with skills and opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship.

Our programming is centered around four main focus areas

Integrated vocational training

Girl and youth-friendly financial services

Fair and just employment

Self-employment

Integrated vocational training

Young people need to be prepared for a fast-paced and ever-changing employment and business landscape. Our programs are designed for young women and men to learn, practice and master skills and attitudes for workplace success. This includes an agile and entrepreneurial mindset, self-confidence, vocational technical skills, interpersonal skills, communications and technology acumen and financial literacy. We also aim to amplify youth voices within youth employment programs. To this end we partnered with Citi Foundation to create a roadmap for youth employment funders and implementers to strengthen youth engagement strategies.

Read Story

Vocational Training Opens Up New Opportunities for Young Women in South Sudan

MAY. 24, 2021

Girl and youth-friendly financial services

Everyone needs access to financial services, including savings, loan and insurance products — but traditional financial products and services were not designed for women or young people. Plan’s financial services are tailored to their needs and preferences. Young women and men learn to save, take loans and be bankers in their own right by accessing and managing their own savings groups and clubs. Savings groups also serve as a supportive platform for growing their peer networks and practicing essential skills such as self-discipline, money management and conflict resolution. Savings groups are also a venue for raising awareness about issues in the community, gender rights, continuing education and marketing opportunities.

Read Story

#YoungAndPowerful through savings groups: Changing the lives of refugee youth

MAY. 23, 2018

Fair and just employment

Young people don’t only deserve to be able to get and keep jobs, but they also have the right to decent work. So, Plan engages with employers to promote gender-inclusive and supportive workplaces. Achieving fair and just working conditions is good for everyone — employers, workers and consumers. To do this, we work closely with national and local governments and private sector partners to develop gender-inclusive policies and practices that uphold the rights of workers and implement systems for responsible recruitment, safe migration and ways to report violations if their rights are infringed upon. Our experience and long-standing relationships with government entities and the private sector are used to influence positive changes in national and international policies. We are a founding member of the World Bank’s Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) and an initiative with the International Labor Organization called Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth.

Read Story

Success stories Ending forced labor and human trafficking in the fishing industry

APR. 29, 2021

Self-employment

In many rural areas, it is particularly difficult for young people to find waged employment opportunities — but with our entrepreneurship programming, they have the power to take their careers into their own hands through self-employment. Young entrepreneurs — both women and men — learn the skills they need to spot business opportunities, develop their business ideas, set-up and manage the risks of running a business, and face challenges with flexibility and creativity. They build their resilience with financial, business, socioemotional, entrepreneurial, digital and life skills. Young women entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed if they have trusted mentors. That’s why Plan facilitates business mentoring for young women entrepreneurs, and links them to affordable and gender-inclusive financial services and professional networking opportunities.

Read Story

Success stories Four young entrepreneurs building success in Guatemala

OCT. 28, 2019

In her own words

Read her story

Because of the life skills training, I became strong, courageous and I’m able to make my own decisions. Now I can see a bright future and I want to open my own salon, so I can support my child and my parents.

Belinda, Kenya

Belinda’s bright future: Learning the skills to succeed

Bibata is a female plumber in Burkina Faso

Read her story

Meet the plumber breaking down gender stereotypes

Read Zara’s story

We can build Africa without weapons

To speak with an expert, email Plan International USA’s Director, Youth & Economic Empowerment, Kate Ezzes.

Your gift to Plan International USA will be used where needed most, to help create sustainable change and address the root causes of poverty and inequality. Donations can support programs, innovation, and infrastructure required to deliver our programs to girls and children worldwide, in areas such as protection, education, health, sanitation, disaster relief and economic empowerment.