EDC to Prepare Philippine Youth for Education and Employment

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) selected EDC to lead Opportunity 2.0, a five-year, $37.5 million project supporting out-of-school youth for better education, employment, and livelihood outcomes.

Working in 10 cities across the Philippines, Opportunity 2.0 will support the Philippines’ Department of Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, as well as local governments, to provide quality education, skills, and opportunities to over 180,000 out-of-school youth with diverse skill profiles, education levels, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Building on EDC’s 20+ years of work in the Philippines, Opportunity 2.0 program will strengthen links between education, markets, and local communities to provide youth with a second-chance education and support in seeking employment. The program will work with more than 2,000 teachers and 2,200 employers to build partnerships between the education system, industry, community leaders, and government agencies who provide services to youth. Program participants will develop key employment skills such as teamwork, customer service, decision-making and problem-solving.

“This is an exciting project that will make a real difference to out-of-school youth in the Philippines,” says David Hall, the project’s chief of party. “Opportunity 2.0 will work with our government partners to support out-of-school youths’ transition to further education and employment and to increase awareness and involvement with universities and the private sector.”

EDC’s partners for this project include USAID, the Philippines Ministry of Education, SEAMEO-INNOTECH, Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), Voluntary Service Overseas, Accenture, and Catholic Relief Services.