PICOT in partnership with Aga Khan Foundation –Uganda are implementing a four years project on Youth social and economic empowerment through civil society and local authorities (Youth SEECs) with funding from European Union and Aga Khan Foundation –United Kingdom. The projects intends to reach 1500 beneficiaries by the end of four years in two cohorts of 750 in the period of two years
The Overall Objective of this Action is to improve Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) and employability skills of vulnerable young women and men aged 15-30 in Koboko district through strengthening the capacity of Civil Society and Local Authorities (LAs). Under Specific Objective 1The beneficiary Aga Khan Foundation United Kingdom (AKF-UK) and the co-beneficiary Aga Khan Foundation Uganda (AKF-U) will increase the capacity of 1 lead Local Civil Society Organisation (LCSO) Partners In Community Transformation (PICOT), the co-beneficiary to work with the Koboko LAsto pilot an improved FAL system, aiming to formalise the existing FAL structure within the public school system .Under Specific Objective 2AKF-UK and AKF-U will support the LCSO to convene stakeholders to review the FAL guidelines into a comprehensive curriculum that not only delivers basic FAL skills but also life skills and employability skills aligned to market needs.
In direct support of these objectives, the following three Estimated Results have been defined for the Action:
- Strengthened institutional and technical capacity of1 lead LCSO,, PICOT(the co-beneficiary)to support government FAL system delivery.
- An enhanced skills-based FAL curriculum to enable self-employment, employability and life skills for 1,500 vulnerable young women and men in Koboko district.
- Enhanced knowledge and research on contextually-appropriate FAL approaches that can be applied across the region.
The key underlying principles of the project are working through existing local structures, building capacity of local institutions, and establishing contextually-relevant models which can be sustained and replicated.
The Theory of Change:
The Action is informed by a robust Theory of Change which has determined how project activities will contribute to the expected results, specific results and overall objectives. A basic lack of education, poor literacy, and an absence of employable skills among youth who have dropped out of school in Koboko District present key barriers to future employment. The existing Government-run FAL system, which teaches literacy and numeracy over a three year period, is significantly underfunded and fails to align the interests and skills of youth with existing economic opportunities in the region. The LAs are also constrained by a lack of organisational and technical capacity to mobilise youth and deliver the training. Limited research, evaluation and learning on the delivery of FAL programmes inhibit a necessary review of its impact on youth employment.
Recognizing these challenges, AKF-U will build the capacity of the co-beneficiary a competent, youth-focused LCSO to revise the existing FAL curriculum, based on consultations with key stakeholders from government, private sector and civil society. Through three thematic Communities of Practices (CoPs), mobilized by PICOT and comprised of Youth, Business and FAL Instructors, AKF-U will devise an enhanced FAL curriculum that will integrate market driven, functional employability skills to prepare youth for the job market. Using a Training of Trainers (ToT) approach, AKF-U and PICOT will facilitate the training of 75 FAL Instructors who will then deliver the enhanced curriculum to 1,500 male and female youth in two cycles of 18 months each. A robust learning agenda, guided by a local university or research organization will determine the impact of participation of FAL programmes on the lives of adult students, generating findings on alternative methods of FAL delivery that can be applied and adapted across Uganda, the East African region and beyond.