CALGARY, Canada, CMC – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Microsoft Corporation will provide US$2.8 million to finance job training programmes for as many as 6 000 young people across Latin America and the Caribbean.
IDB said that the new initiative expands and deepens the partnership with the software giant that began four years ago.
It said that the two organisations will create a Youth Technology for Job Insertion Fund to broaden information technology (IT) skills and economic opportunities for disadvantaged youth in Latin America and the Caribbean through targeted initiatives that contribute to the development of young people as individuals, increasing opportunities for them to acquire decent employment.
Unemployment among people under the age of 30 is double the jobless rate of the population over 35 years of age.
The Fund will provide grants to eligible non-profit organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean to finance capacity building, mentorship and labor insertion programs for youth. SES Foundation in Buenos Aires, Argentina will serve as the regional executing agency for the fund.
“This initiative goes far beyond the purpose of job insertion. The development of IT skills is an excellent engine for the development of our young people, as knowledge workers and digital entrepreneurs, which are essential for the progress of our region,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno.
“Tackling youth unemployment is an increasingly critical challenge for the public and private sectors. With the Youth Technology for Job Insertion Fund, the IDB and Microsoft are addressing this with a new initiative to improve livelihoods and provide the real skills necessary for greater economic opportunities for Latin American and Caribbean youth,” said Hernán Rincón, president for Microsoft Latin America.
The IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund, known as MIF, and Microsoft will each contribute $1.4 million to the new Fund while SES Foundation will provide another US$200 000. (CMC)
