The Skill Up! program offers young women and men between the ages of 15 and 35 the opportunity to gain professional qualifications.The training programs in the individual countries are practical, needs-based and adapted to the respective location.
Skills Development for Youth
The Challenge
Youth unemployment and underemployment severely hinder global economic and social development. With 1.2 billion young people aged 15–24, they represent 40% of the world’s unemployed, and young women are particularly disadvantaged, being 1.5 times less likely to find employment than young men.
Each year, more youth enter the labor market, straining systems that often lack the capacity to address employment, training, and skills matching. Despite these challenges, young people are powerful drivers of entrepreneurship, innovation, and social change.
Welthungerhilfe (WHH) recognizes education and employment as critical pathways to inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and hunger eradication. By focusing on skills development, WHH strives to empower youth as agents of change, contributing to sustainable food and nutrition security.
Outcomes from flagship program Skill Up! since 2015:
24,000+
young people completed Skill Up! Training
65%
trainees were women
82%
learned skills relevant to their jobs
62%
report income increases
Our Approach
WHH empowers young people through a skills development approach that enables them to gain employment, generate income, and drive positive change in their communities. Our goal is to foster systems change, ensuring formal and non-formal vocational education and training (TVET) is relevant, inclusive, and aligned with sustainable and resilient food systems.
Over the past decade, WHH has trained more than 98,000 young people, focusing on vulnerable populations in rural, urban, and fragile contexts. Building on our flagship Skill Up! program, implemented since 2015 and currently implemented in 11 countries including Kenya and Uganda, we have developed a comprehensive, scalable model tailored to local needs and market demands.
Our interventions combine technical, business, and social skills training with support both during and after training, like mentoring, including financial literacy, access to microfinance, and digital education. We prioritize gender equality and social inclusion, with 65% of Skill Up! participants being young women. In Kenya, teenage mothers receive psychosocial and childcare support to enable their participation, while in Uganda, our curricula integrate nutrition awareness, climate action, and leadership.
Collaboration with local partners, civil society, public institutions, and the private sector is key to our approach. For instance, in Uganda, entrepreneurs mentor graduates on the job, while in Kenya, partners align curricula with industry standards. Together, we are equipping youth with the tools to build sustainable livelihoods and transform their futures.
Our Outcomes and Successes
Since its launch in 2015, WHH’s Skill Up! program has supported over 24,000 young people, with 90% completing the training. Many graduates find the program impactful, with 82% reporting that the skills gained are relevant to their current jobs, and 54% indicating they secured wage or self-employment within three months of graduation.
The program contributes to economic improvements—62% of participants report an average income increase of 30.3%, and 55% note higher overall household incomes. Skill Up! also seeks to address gender inequality, labor market demands, and participant needs through an adaptable approach tailored to local contexts.
A 2024 evaluation suggests that the program is coherent and adaptable, helping align vocational training with market demands while supporting participants’ goals. Skill Up! continues to address ongoing challenges by providing valuable opportunities for youth empowerment and skills development.
