Costa Rica: Joint Programme on Youth, Employment and Migration: A One-Stop Shop for Youth Employment

Though Costa Rica's youth have a high level of literacy and education, they suffer from high levels of unemployment. This Joint Programme increased access to decent jobs by improving the employability and entrepreneurialism of young people between the ages of 15 and 24, especially female, rural and migrant youth, and those in vulnerable situations.

The programme provided education, training and access to employment intermediary services through integrated “one-stop youth employment shops” in two communities: one in a rural area and one in a marginal urban area.

On the national level, the programme aimed to strengthen the coordination and coherence of public policies and government action. Collaborators in the planning and execution of the programme included government agencies, the business sector, workers, civil society and, especially, organisations run by and for young people. This guaranteed that the needs and interests of youth, as seen from their own perspective, were incorporated into initiatives.

Some of the achievements of the rogramme were:

• Two one-stop shops were set up for the full provision of employment and training services to serve youth in a vulnerable situation, with a particular focus on female youth and immigrants. More than 1,600 youth benefited from the one-stop shops and from training facilities and access to employment services.
• As a result of the success of the programme's youth-focus model, the Ministry of Labour replicated it in ten other municipalities as part of the EMPLEATE Strategy.
• A one-stop shop was established at the General Directorate for Employment within the Ministry of Labour.

Click for more detailed results from the Joint Programmes in Costa Rica (in Spanish).