Dubai: INJAZ Al-Arab, The Starbucks Foundation, and Starbucks Middle East have successfully completed one year of youth employability programs in the MENA region.
They have introduced youth upskilling initiatives in the UAE and Kuwait, focusing on enhancing financial independence and employability skills.
INJAZ Al-Arab, the region’s largest non-profit business organization for education and training in workforce readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship across the Arab world, worked with the coffeehouse giant and curated workshops and events across the UAE and Kuwait that will teach students about essential life skills such as money management, applying to and interviewing for jobs, and building robust career growth plans that enable individual and regional economic growth.
The partnership between INJAZ UAE and The Starbucks Foundation aimed to expose students to employability, entrepreneurship, future jobs, digital literacy, and essential professional skills that will prepare them for the fast-changing work culture.
The MENA region has the highest and fastest-growing unemployment rate among youth between the ages of 15 and 24 years worldwide, aggravated by a significant ‘youth bulge’ where children and young people comprise a large share of the population.
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) predicts that over 271 million adolescents between 0 and 24 will live in MENA by mid-century, underscoring an urgent need to address youth unemployment and upskill youth with the skills of tomorrow.
INJAZ Al-Arab and The Starbucks Foundation’s partnership demonstrates their commitment to uplifting the region’s youth and ensuring they can participate in tomorrow’s digitally driven global economy.
Through similar programs and sessions across the region, INJAZ continues to empower youth by providing them with the knowledge and skills they need to make smart academic and economic choices.