ILO Communication Strategy Development Consultancies in Kenya

The Better Utilization of Skills for Youth through Quality Apprenticeship (BUSY project) is a four year initiative being financed by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), and implemented by International Labour Organization (ILO) in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU-K).

The overall project goal is to increase decent job opportunities and employability of young people, thereby addressing unemployment, vulnerability and poverty in urban and rural settings.

The project’s objective is to improve the capacity of Kenyan government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and civil society organizations to establish and expand workplace-based training programs with a focus on vulnerable and marginalized youth { Vulnerable and Marginalized Youth (VMY)’ refers to youth ages 16-24, in particular adolescents 16-17 years old, at or above the legal working age, who are engaged in or at risk of engaging in hazardous}, in particular adolescents at or above the legal working age who are engaged in or at risk of engaging in child labor.

Laws or policies supporting quality workplace-based training opportunities for youth in Kenya, including vulnerable and marginalized youth, are improved and / or implemented by key stakeholders;

Kenyan government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and other stakeholders implement best practices related to workplace-based training for youth, including the most vulnerable and marginalized; and,

The quality of existing public and private programs in Kenya that provide vulnerable and marginalized youth with prerequisite skills to enter workplace-based training programs is improved.

Under outcome two, the project is supporting the employers’ and workers’ organizations to enhance workplace-based training for youth onto their policy agendas in earnest, including for vulnerable and marginalized young women and men.

The project supported two studies in target counties to gauge the levels of awareness and attitudes towards the implementation of workplace-based training programs for youth in employers’ and workers’ organizations, particularly for vulnerable and marginalized young men and women.

The workers’ study focused on the demand side, and employers’ on the supply side.

Both studies looked at formal and informal enterprises, and particular focus was given to small scale and semi-formal medium and small enterprises.

The Busy project is in the process of developing a communication strategy aimed at employers, Master Craftpersons, and the general public living in target counties to disseminate the study findings.

In order to support interventions to address negative perceptions and knowledge gaps on workplace-based training amongst employers’ and workers’ organizations, training institutions, civil society and other stakeholders.

The communication strategy and capacity building interventions and tools will be implemented via social dialogues platforms, workshops and through the use of targeted media activities.

Youth

In this sense, micro and small-sized enterprises operating in the informal economy provide easy access for a greater number of youth to receive skills training in both rural and urban settings.

These are linked to labour market demand, allow school dropouts to enroll in vocational training schemes and are less costly for both beneficiaries’ households and government agencies.

While informal apprenticeships provide the technical skills needed for paid employment, it is unclear if apprentices receive the skills they need to be successful at self-employment.

The communication strategy should include the following elements:

The consultant should have the following competencies:-