USAID/Indonesia Ready-to-Work Accelerator Program (RWAP)

Challenge

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, has a relatively stable economy that the World Bank expects will grow at 5.3 percent per year until 2020. However, with a population growth rate of over 1 percent per year, the country has an ever-increasing need for employment opportunities for the large number of young people entering the job market annually. Indonesian employers have reported that students must have soft skills such as teamwork and leadership for employment. Yet despite this being a key focus for employers, few training institutions include soft skills in their programs.

To provide Indonesia’s youth, particularly those from families with very low incomes, EDC supported the USAID/Indonesia Ready-to-Work Accelerator Program (RWAP). RWAP worked with public and private vocational training institutions, higher education institutions, the private sector, and government agencies to improve the quality of education and prepare youth for career success.

Key Activities

EDC supported the RWAP project by providing soft skills training for instructors from technical vocational institutions and universities. Based on EDC’s Work Ready Now! (WRN!) curriculum, this training included content areas and approaches that instructors can use in their teaching.

EDC’s activities were as follows:

• Developed and provided high-quality training to facilitators from a range of institutions, including private and government-managed TVET institutions and universities
• Promoted Positive Youth Development, social inclusion, and gender issues to the educational institutions and the private sector
• Provided life skills training to private sector companies to improve staff motivation, retention, and effectiveness