Strengthening Local Government Work Exchanges in Bolivia

“I was one of the teenagers trained in customer service and sales. The knowledge I gained in these courses was invaluable. Thanks to the work exchange I now work at Bits & Cream. Today I am grateful for that. I also wish to reach out to the companies, to invite them to help young people become part of their work force and they will see that young people can and have the capacity to be part of their business.” Luci Llorenti –19 years old

Bolivia is experiencing a demographic boom, with most of its population in their prime working years. With the youngest population in Latin America, this presents a signifi cant opportunity for economic and social advancement where young people can be the driving force for the country’s development. However, obstacles hinder adolescents and youth from exercising their rights fully and most cannot find dignified employment and are engaged in informal employment. 

Legislation and policies advocate for rights guarantors to spearhead initiatives to ensure that young people have access to decent work. However, while local governments possess the competencies, they face numerous technical, structural, and budgetary constraints. In response, the POWER 4 AY Project offers a comprehensive strategy to address these needs whilst bringing together various stakeholders to work in unison to establish local government work exchanges and enhance youth employability. 

Prior to the intervention of the project, municipal employment initiatives were in many cases either absent or incipient. By developing specific policies, garnering political support, and highlighting demand, the project presented local governments with a proven strategy from extensive experience in supporting vulnerable youth to secure dignifi ed employment. The strategy, which joins processes for life skills and vocational training, job intermediation, mentoring and business incubation, is transferred to local governments which are provided with initial support and linked to crucial partnerships that engage numerous stakeholders across the employment landscape. Successful experiences are gaining momentum and been replicated, now reaching eight municipalities, including Bolivia’s most populous cities: La Paz, Trinidad, Chuquisaca, Sucre, Tiquipaya, Sacaba, Santa Cruz, and Oruro. 

Forging Connections among Stakeholders 

The Project empowers local governments to serve as intermediaries, facilitating dialogue between young job seekers and local companies offering employment opportunities. Save the Children acts as a catalyst, and helps mobilize other civil society organizations to drive various stakeholders play a pivotal role: 

Government Entities: Provide resources, personnel, and essential competencies to operate exchanges while serving as a central reference point for stakeholders. 

Youth: Access a reliable platform to kick-start or advance their careers, free from exploitation or trafficking. 

Companies: Register labor demands and thereby contribute to create job opportunities. 

Save the Children and partners as Centro Multiservicios Educativos: Offer initial resources and expert support to activate exchanges, as well as providing training and technical assistance including on gender equality, safeguarding, and disability inclusion. 

Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institutions and Others: Support the coordination of employment networks. 

The Market Approach: Meeting Employment Demand and Supply 

Young people are guided towards effective labor insertion with a market driven approach. Real job opportunities with verified dignified conditions, are continuously sought by reaching out to employers and amply promoting the work exchanges. The project endeavors to stimulate private sector engagement with this vulnerable demographic. 

A communication strategy is put in place to socialize the work exchanges to young people with particular emphasis on vulnerable populations. Key partnerships, as with protection service providers, also help guiding the youth to seek support from the work exchanges. 

Young job seekers are empowered in order to be more successful in their job search. The support they receive includes Life Skills training and vocational training with adolescents linked to the POWER 4 AY or to other partner initiatives. Labour Plans for young people to envision their future career trajectories help them guide their actions in the pursuit of suitable employment opportunities that align with their long-term objectives. 

As self-employment is a powerful alternative to wage employment, several work exchanges also provide business incubation programs. Interestingly, these are linked to universities engaged to provide mentoring support, whilst the POWER 4 AY and other support initiatives provide seed funding and technical support. 

The challenge of job retention is met with a comprehensive post-insertion follow-up strategy. Over a period following labor insertion, young people receive ongoing support and mentoring including technical assistance and psychosocial support as needed, ensuring the longevity of their employment trajectories. 

The Evolution of Employment Exchanges in Bolivia 

While the initial stages of these exchanges require substantial support, they gradually consolidate over time, emerging as pivotal components of the employment landscape. This consolidation also opens doors to broader opportunities for youth empowerment and socio-economic development. 

Therefore, these initiatives are necessarily accompanied by a contextualization of the normative framework where project advocacy efforts have succeeded in promulgating laws and decrees that adequately institutionalize the exchanges.In the pursuit of youth employment, these work exchanges at municipal and departmental levels stand as a beacon of hope, not only connecting job seekers with opportunities but also fostering a culture of inclusivity and empowerment. As these exchanges evolve, they pave the way for a brighter future for you