Our Work

YouLead

Skilled and Resilient Migrant Workers Project

Funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, IESC implemented the $1.5-million Skilled and Resilient Migrant Workers Project (SRMW). The project was designed to make overseas employment safer and more rewarding by providing better occupational information and by increasing the skill levels of Sri Lankans going abroad for work. It helped reintegrate returning workers by assessing their capabilities and linking them to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in Sri Lanka. With more than 50,000 migrant workers returning to Sri Lanka due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project came at a very critical time as many returnees have very few employment prospects. To deliver support to Sri Lankan migrant workers and civil society organizations working with migrants, IESC leveraged the counseling, vocational skills development, and entrepreneurship support mechanisms built by YouLead.

Results

One of IESC’s most notable achievements was the development of curricula on Occupational Career Guidance and Post Return Career Guidance. These modules empower prospective migrant workers with insights into skilled labor opportunities and support the sustainable economic reintegration of returned migrant workers into the Sri Lankan labor market. 15,070 aspiring and returned migrant workers were provided with guidance in priority districts.
In 2023, IESC established the first pilot Recognition of Prior Learning Information Center, which will help facilitate skilled migration. The center is already serving as a pivotal space for conducting National Vocational Qualification assessments, strengthening opportunities for prospective or returned migrant workers to receive formal certification for technical skills.

Tourism Resilience in Sri Lanka Project

The Tourism Resilience in Sri Lanka Project (TRP) was a three-year project funded by the European Union and implemented by IESC from 2021 to 2024. The project focused on helping Sri Lanka’s tourism recovery and resilience efforts through retaining jobs and small businesses, supporting sustainability, innovation, skills development, and resilience through the creation of a new signature experience focused on sustainability and community development, and building small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are aligned to the signature experience and better able to compete in the changing tourism landscape.

Through TRP, IESC designed and developed a 300 km hiking and walking trail network across Central and Uva Provinces—The Pekoe Trail. The trail has been mapped, assessed, and signposted. Every week hundreds of walkers explore the trail, which winds through the Sri Lankan tea country. The project also supported registration of The Pekoe Trail Company (Gte) Ltd, the independent destination management organization that is now responsible for management and upkeep of the trail.

TRP was an integral part of YouLead, also implemented by IESC, contributing more than $2.5 million in cost share to YouLead.

Results

1,117 business owners and youth participated in upskilling programs related to the hospitality industry to improve their tourism sector skills
271 tourism SMEs trained in workforce development, health and safety, and digital skills development
80 SMEs awarded small grants through two grants programs to help them survive multiple economic shocks, mobilize capital, and support innovative new product development and diversification of tourism business and experiences along The Pekoe Trail
57 SMEs completed a five-month incubator to refine their business plans, receive expert mentorship, and ultimately capitalize on market opportunities from The Pekoe Trail to grow their businesses
3 research studies completed to analyze demand for the trail’s visitor volume; assess biodiversity of the trail, carrying capacity to absorb visitors, and entry points for conservation interventions; and identify best practices and guidelines for nature-based tourism as it relates to The Pekoe Trail

Updates

Summary

The USAID Youth Employment and Business Start-up (YouLead) Program improved technical and vocational education and training and increased the employability of young people in Sri Lanka. YouLead created a more skilled and flexible workforce through activities that supported and strengthened students, teachers, and institutions.

For students

YouLead improved career counseling in Sri Lanka to make it more in line with the market, so that young people could get in-demand jobs and skills. YouLead ensured that high-quality, market-oriented career counseling was equally available to groups that had historically been left out of these services, including rural youth, girls and young women, and ethnic minorities.

For teachers and institutions

Working closely with key government ministries and private and public training institutes, YouLead took a market-driven approach to designing and improving educational and vocational training curriculum and helped develop master trainers and counselors.

Program details

Funder: USAID

Project duration: 2017 to 2024

Award: $18 million

Partners: Global Communities, American Chamber of Commerce, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Skills for Life, Verité Research

Results

70,000 new or better jobs
3,000 career guidance officers trained to better match students to careers
140,000 youth received one-on-one career guidance
10,000 new businesses opened
32,249 youth completed project-assisted workforce development programs
31,985 youth trained in social or leadership skills through project-assisted programs
76 technical curricula designed or improved
1,866 trainers receiving training

Resources

Updates

Improving Economies for Stronger Communities (IESC)
2000 M Street NW
Suite 250
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-589-2600
Email: iesc@iesc.org

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