IOM El Salvador strengthens organizations that promote labor integration of youth

In conjunction with USAID’s Bridges to Employment Project, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) held the workshop “Migration and Youth” in El Salvador from January 28 to 29, 2020. 

According to estimates from the United Nations Population Fund¹ , young people account for 63% of the population in El Salvador. This age group is at higher risk of being underemployed, earning 78% of what adults make each month, and is less likely to have a job with benefits. In 2018, 40% of youth between the ages of 15 and 19 had left the education system, which typically increases the likelihood of irregular migration. 

In this context, the workshop brought together 25 people working in organizations connected to the issues of youth and employability to give them tools to help their target audience identify alternatives to irregular migration.^₂ 

The work sessions gave participants tools to address the issue of migration in the various training centers where they work, as well as pathways for referring specific cases. Additionally, IOM provided tools to build capacities for psychosocial assistance and to implement self-care and team-care initiatives, a must-have for these organizations working with this population.

“One of the benefits of the workshop for our partners is the application of methodological and theoretical tools to teaching life and work skills. Those entail working with the youth on life projects and decision-making, and thus they can now better address the issue of the risks and consequences of irregular migration,” explained Natalia Garay, an official from the USAID Youth Workforce Development Program. 

The participating organizations included the Gloria Kriete Foundation, the Opportunities Program, Althes, the Passionist Social Service, and the J. Borjka Foundation. 

“This workshop has been very important, an experience that has given me knowledge, skills to provide comprehensive assistance to people considering migrating to another country,” stated Querubina Quintanilla, psychologist with the Survivor Network Foundation. 

IOM held this activity within the framework of the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica-The Caribbean, financed by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State of the United States of America.