The Youth Employment Challenge Fund (YECF) is seeking an experienced consultancy to conduct qualitative research into youth retention strategies (including strategies explicitly designed for retention, as well as job quality improvement strategies that could help improve retention) in the YECF portfolio and beyond.

In this context, CFYE is encouraging its implementing partners (IPs) to apply a youth and gender perspective to the career paths of young people in their company and to optimise the experience of young employees in their company.

The results of this work will enable the FCEJF and its members to partners gain a better understanding of viable solutions to the challenge of staying in school. They will use this knowledge to contribute to the development of tools and solutions that can be applied by their IPs and, ultimately, by other players working on youth employment interventions.

The results of the work should demonstrate the business case for investing in youth retention strategies and share practical tools to enable action, including a clear overview with examples of costed retention solutions. Ideas and recommendations will be made available to the whole ecosystem of youth employment stakeholders, so that they can apply this knowledge and contribute to the sustainable creation of jobs for young people.

Objectives

• Within the framework of the quality employment pathway for young people, CFYE distinguishes 3 stages: how to attract young people, how to select young people and how to retain them. CFYE has identified 10 key topics for optimising the stages of the quality employment pathway for young people. 6 of these 10 topics could help companies improve their retention rates, including: professional development opportunities for young people, peer networks, space for young people's voices, youth-focused secondary benefits, specific benefits for young parents and youth-focused respect and dignity at work. Inclusive practices are important for improving the retention of young women.
• This specific mission focuses on how companies can retain young people. The aim is to gain a better understanding of :
  • What are the effective strategies for retaining young people (within or outside the topics mentioned above)?
  • What effective strategies are being implemented in the CFYE portfolio? (Providing examples of costed business cases for retention strategies).
  • How can companies or organisations decide which loyalty strategies are right for them, both operationally and financially?
• To achieve these objectives, the following learning issues have been identified:
  • What are generally considered to be (profitable) youth retention strategies (outside the CFYE portfolio)? And how can they be disaggregated by sector, business model and gender?
  • What are the main challenges facing their implementing partners in terms of retaining young people?
  • What loyalty strategies are their implementation partners deploying, and how effective are they?
  • What other investments are companies making in job quality to help improve the retention of young people?
  • What gender inclusion strategies are effective in retaining young people?
  • What is the business case for youth retention strategies?

Information on funding

• The total estimated budget for this assignment is €35,000, including any logistical arrangements or tools required. No travel is planned as this research can be carried out remotely.

Timeline

• Estimated start date October 2024 to end February 2025

Expected results

• Product 1: Literature review report (maximum 15 pages) on effective strategies for retaining young people in different types of jobs, business models and sectors.
  • The report should answer the following questions: What challenges do companies face in retaining young people? Why should companies invest in youth retention strategies? What are generally considered to be effective youth retention strategies (outside of the CFCY portfolio) and how do they relate to job quality? What gender-inclusive strategies are effective for retention? The report should provide an overview of the available evidence for effective retention strategies.
• Product 2: 9 case studies (1 page each) of implementation partners' youth retention strategies.
  • These case studies should analyse the strategies the loyalty strategies deployed by these partners, their effectiveness and the business case for investing in these strategies. 3 case studies should focus on companies in the digital sector, 3 on companies in the green sector and 3 on strategies company for gender inclusion in relation to youth retention.
• Output 3: Updating and improving the database of solutions linked to quality work paths for young people.
  • CFYE has started to compile a simple database of youth retention activities implemented by IPs. Based on the literature review and case studies, this database should be updated with additional external and internal strategies and improved to be suitable for external use. It should also include filtering options, allowing organisations to create a shortlist of solutions relevant to them.

Key activities

• Literature search on relevant methodologies for cost-benefit analysis of (youth) retention strategies in the wider ecosystem
• Present a personalised research design for this specific assignment
• Literature review of available research and evidence on effective retention strategies within the youth employment ecosystem.
• Cooperation with a CFYE research intern to access and analyse qualitative data on retention strategies for existing reports.
• Analysis of the current results of the FCYE Youth Impact Growth Matrix for 43 FCYE implementing partners,
• Produce 9 short case studies (including a rapid cost-benefit analysis) of the proven retention strategies of 9 CFYE implementing partners under three themes: digital, green and gender.
• Present preliminary results on effective retention strategies from the CFYE portfolio. Take advantage of this session to gather additional information.
• Update and enhance the CFYE solutions database with new perspectives on youth retention. Become a tool with a practical and simple decision tree to arrive at a shortlist of relevant retention solutions, broken down by relevance to job type/business models and gender inclusion. There is no need to cost this database.
• Present the results at an internal CFYE meeting and possibly on an external platform (e.g. podcast or conference).

Criteria

• Extensive experience of relevant research assignments in the field of employment (for young people and women) in an international context
• A presence in the field is not required for this assignment, but specific experience of research in Africa and the Middle East is an advantage.
• Experience of relevant research methodologies, including cost-benefit analysis of employment strategies.
• Ability to transform existing reports and raw data from interviews and the provisional database into attractive, easy-to-understand recommendations
• Cultural sensitivity: Respect for the diversity of cultures, perspectives and experiences, particularly in the specified regions.
• Demonstrate experience of working with the private sector or companies on research assignments.

For more information, visit the CFYE website.