Evaluation Learnings Search

Learning Description

Career Connect Club Offerings: In El Salvador, Glasswing and Fe y Alegria discovered that some of the Career Connect Clubs being offered were not popular and, consequently, had low enrollment rates.

Learning Description

To address the fact that the project’s leadership is based in Honduras, the project has effectively used technology such as Skype and social media to facilitate individual and as well as group meetings. The use of technology allows the director and deputy director to participate in some key meetings and workshops held in El Salvador and, on the other hand, allows the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) coordinator and training specialist to participate in key meetings and other events held in Honduras.

Learning Description

To address the problem of gang-controlled areas, the project divided the field team into two sub-teams. One sub-team worked with youth from one gang-controlled area while the other sub-team worked with youth from the other gang-controlled area. This strategy, which the evaluators consider to be a good practice, allowed youth from the two gang-controlled areas to participate.

Learning Description

To address the delay caused by the lengthy monitoring and evaluation plan development and baseline study completion, the project implemented pilot activities for the Career Connect Clubs, YouthBuilder program, and Strong Families in late 2016 while the baseline methodology and data collection forms were still in draft form. The pilot activities allowed project partners to gain valuable experience and adjust methods and tools in preparation for formal implementation.

Learning Description

To address the lack of labor market information, Glasswing El Salvador started to conduct informal surveys by visiting and interviewing local businesses and manufacturers to determine the job opportunities and the required skill sets for those jobs. The informal surveys served as a means to introduce the project to the businesses while gathering information to inform the kind of vocational training the project should offer local youth.

Learning Description

To address the high attrition rate of Career Connect club volunteers, the project started to recruit teachers, parents, and other community members because they have stable jobs and live near the schools. It appears that high attrition rates have started to decrease in many schools, which is be largely attributed to using teachers and parents._x000D_

Learning Description

To address the problem of lack of support and referrals of students from some teachers, the Career club coordinators started to orient the teachers about the club objectives and activities and involve them. Many club coordinators are now involving the teachers from the time the project enters a school with club activities to gain their support.

Learning Description

To address the problem of low enrollment in some Career clubs, the project started to offer other kinds of clubs that students showed more interest in such as English language, robotics, and communication. According to Career Connect Club coordinators, offering more club options of interest to students helped improve overall enrollment rates.

Learning Description

The results in YouthBuild show that providing vocational training is not always enough for a program that seeks to improve employability in young people from vulnerable settings, particularly if they are stigmatized. It is important to acknowledge the contributions of other elements: First, strengthening soft skills is extremely important in that it enhances participant self esteem, and participant conviction that they can get ahead. Program post-graduation support for participants helps them return to school and get work, but in the participants' view, it also encourages them to pursue their own growth. In addition to facilitating access to formal employment for youth, participating in the program acts as a type of collateral that makes it possible to overcome the stigma associated with certain territories that are considered hot spots for violence.

Learning Description

When designing a theory of change (TOC), factors that affect local-context applicability must be considered. Youth Pathways-Central America (YPCA) correctly identified most of the causal mechanisms in its TOC, but its scope and applicability could have been more relevant had it incorporated more concrete actions to promote permanence in the educational system. The project faced a wave of migratory movements during implementation, resulting in one of the main causes of youth desertion from school. Although the project includes a migration campaign that shows the risks associated with migration, it was implemented late, in a complex high-migration context, and additional funding could have improved its reach.