Creative’s Education Division Awarded MCC-Indonesia Contract
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Creative Associates International’s Education for Development division has been awarded the Millennium Challenge Corporation contract to assess risks and recommend improvements to the Indonesia MCC Education and Professional Certification for Youth Employment (EPICs) Project.
Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest country with a population of over 220 million and, according to the World Bank, youth unemployment stands at nearly 30 percent. These stark statistics have caused the Government of Indonesia to propose an anti-poverty campaign that prioritizes investments in education and job training to support the country’s disadvantaged youth. In 2009, the Government spent approximately 20 percent of their GDP on education. Despite these efforts, each year 3.3 million Indonesian youth leave school before completing high school.
Creative’s President and CEO Charito Kruvant said, “This initiative brings the strength of the MCC to bear in support of lifting up and giving opportunities to Indonesian youth. Creative welcomes the opportunity to align our experience and resources with Indonesia’s priorities.”
The MCC Youth Employment Project will scale up a program linking youth to private training providers ultimately matching trainees to domestic and overseas jobs. While the Indonesian Ministry for Development Planning has designed the major program activities, Creative will review the situational constraints, assess project risks, review alternative scenarios and provide recommendations to improve the project’s design. In addition, the Indonesian government intends to provide youth with business development training support, entrepreneurial skills, and access to financing so that they can attain self-employment. Creative’s team will advise MCC and the Indonesian government on how to support these young entrepreneurs and how to address the specific problems that women have in entering the workforce and in being entrepreneurs.
The MCC was established in 2004 to assist developing countries that demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, invest in their own people, and allow economic freedom as measured by 17 different policy indicators. These criteria include compliance with policy indicators such as civil liberties, political rights, rule of law, education, and control of corruption. Once selected, a country is expected to continue its reform process and either maintain or improve performance indicators. As such, MCC’s assistance to countries is considered a compact between the MCC and the specified country aimed at reducing poverty.