Strategies to facilitate girls’ participation in transition activities at the level of schools and service providers

Even though strategies have been put in place to facilitate the transition of youth from TVET programmes to the labour market and decent work opportunities, not enough attention has been going to do this with a gender perspective.

To ensure that transition activities are more gender-sensitive, it is important to:

  • Develop gender sensitivity at the level of employment offices. This will help them, among others, to be aware of the specific challenges female students face while looking for employment.
  • Use the organisation of internships and other work-based learning approaches as an opportunity to analyse the working conditions for girls and to develop alternative strategies to create (more) gender awareness and gender equality on the work floor.
  • Make sure that incubators (in-school-production departments) do not become a side-track for individuals who are less likely to be accepted on the labour market, in casu girls.
  • Ensure that TVET programmes prepare girls students also for managerial positions or other jobs that involve more responsibility (and not only to execute technical tasks). This will open doors to positions that offer a better income, job satisfaction, self-development, self-esteem and an overall better self-image.
  • In the framework of programmes that facilitate transition to self-employment, it is important to avoid that girls and women remain ‘trapped’ in the informal sector, for example by helping them to formalize their business through access to credit.

Illustrations/Good practices