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The development of the capacity of the partners to deliver and manage youth enterprise programmes has proven to be a key factor in establishing sustainable enterprise programmes for young people. The initial phase of the project focused extensively on providing training and technical support, in both workshop and one to one environments, to build the capacity of the partners to establish their programmes and deliver enterprise support to young people.

The second phase of the project focused on further building the capacity of the partners while they, with the help of WYE and BYEC, established and delivered both the pre-start-up and post-start-up business development programmes to young people. The partners were assisted through the provision of a series of on-site hands-on technical support visits. These support visits were supplemented with further training, the need for which was identified as a result of feedback from young people on the programme and the experience of the partners.

The Adaptation Process Meets Local Needs and Promotes Sustainability

The partners moved to the second phase of the project when they were in a position to apply the fundamental principles of the programme in “real life situations. During this phase, the practical experience of delivering a youth enterprise support programme resulted in the partners acquiring an intimate working knowledge of the needs of young people in their areas. This enabled them, with technical support when needed, to adapt programme delivery, methods and materials to suit their local social and economic environments. It is important that the partners continue to build their capacity and to evaluate, adapt and develop their service provision, in order to sustain viable and effective programmes that will meet the needs of young people in the long term. 

Project progress was measured through a system of continuous monitoring and evaluation against indicators and milestones agreed by all of the partners, in consultation with the young people. The system was implemented and managed as an inclusive process involving all partners and beneficiaries. This included feedback on the training and support provided to the partners’ staff teams, an assessment of the delivery of counselling, training and awareness sessions delivered to young people, and feedback from the young people themselves. Tracking the progress of the project was also undertaken through monitoring during the technical support visits and through the partners’ own assessments of their progress.

Capacity Building Programme and Mutual Support Accommodates the Partners’ Varying Progression Rates

It was recognised at the outset that all of the partners would not necessarily develop their programmes and programme delivery at the same rate. There are many reasons for this and they revolve around patterns of demand, the varying local economic environments, cultural issues, the expectations and perceptions of young people and the operational practices and starting points of the partners. Nonetheless, the process of development gathered momentum and the partners jointly developed solutions through a process of mutual support. An important factor in the project’s dynamic is the sharing of experiences and the provision of mutual support among the partners, together with the increasing contribution they make to each other’s capacity building.

Outreach Activities Build Local and National Support 

A key priority for all of the partners has been to ensure that the services they provide complement those provided by other organisations. It was also crucial to establish partnership projects with existing agencies in the local community and to maximise the resources available to young people.

To this end, the partners have been assisted in undertaking a proactive series of outreach visits and information events to build on the relationships with complementary agencies, in order to maintain and consolidate the partners’ support and referral networks. This also enhances the local community resources available to young entrepreneurs.