Young Women Building Their Future

“Young Women Building Their Future” project to increase economic and social participation of young women in Turkey who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) launched on 23 February 2022 in İstanbul. The project, funded by Sabancı Foundation, is implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Sabancı Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Aim:

The project aims to make the problems and needs of the NEET women visible and establish mechanisms to address these problems and needs. The project will also increase the social and economic participation of the NEET women by empowering them.

Pilot Cities: Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, İstanbul, İzmir, Konya, Mardin, Trabzon and Van

Current Situation

The concept of NEET (not in employment, education or training) is used for young people to identify their problems and situation in labour market and education. In Turkey, 34.7% of young people aged 18-29 are in the NEET category. Women have larger share within this group. The NEET rate among women is 50.5% compared with a rate of 24.4% for men in the same age group. The number of NEET women is 3.554.000 in Turkey.

Objectives:

The target group of the project is the NEET women in Turkey aged 18-29. There project will focus both on the “invisible” NEET women who have left the labor market entirely, not active, dropped out school for various reasons, have no future expectations and not aware of their rights and also on the “reachable” NEET women, those who are currently unemployed but willing to work or study.

The objectives of the project are as follows:

  • To raise the problems and needs of the NEET women in national fora and activate the relevant stakeholders and institutions.
  • To ensure awareness raising and empowerment of the NEET women.
  • To improve the reachable NEET women’s skills and employment opportunities

Activities:

  • Field Research: Baseline and Needs Assessments
  • Capacity Building and Awareness Raising Trainings
  • Trainings on Improving Vocational Skills
  • Mentorship and Internship
  • Digital Portal including the Opportunities Map
  • Awareness Raising Campaigns
  • International Symposium
  • Grant Program

For more details, please click to read our new project’s information letter. (link)

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