Generation

In Mexico, young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are most affected by unemployment. According to the latest data from the OECD, the youth unemployment rate reached 6.5% in the middle of 2022, a higher rate than at the beginning of the year. According to ENOE 2021, 6 out of 10 young people do not participate in the labor market and 2 out of 10 young people do not look for a job because they do not consider that they have a chance of finding it, or the skills to obtain a quality job. According to the OECD Education Panorama 2022, Mexico ranks tenth as the country with the highest number of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who do not have access to studies or employment. There are approximately 73 million unemployed youth globally. Youth unemployment remains a pressing economic, social and political issue affecting peace, stability, security and the development path of almost every country. In many countries it is young women who are often disproportionately affected and face longer or more difficult transitions to working life.

The global workforce system is broken; Low employment and income outcomes of public workforce systems despite trillions of dollars of spend globally, Workforce system stakeholders -- employers, training providers, social services, and funders -- are uncoordinated, Populations facing the greatest systemic barriers (e.g. race, gender, age) have the hardest time accessing economic opportunity.

Generation transforms education to employment systems to prepare, place, and support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible. We have a methodology that serves people who are unemployed, underemployed, or need to learn new skills. Our program creates a lasting career impact for participants.

Our 24-26-week curriculum will equip learners with the technical and behavioral skills and mindsets needed to thrive in software development and cloud administrator roles, as mapped and continuously revised with industry leaders in Mexico over the past 5 years. The program will be delivered wholly online, and will include synchronous class sessions, asynchronous independent study,1-on-1 and small-group learning and mentoring sessions, and group projects simulating a typical industry assignment. Each cohort of 30-50 learners will be led by one instructor, with the support of an assistant and two mentors. All program staff will be trained and supported by Generation, and the Generation instructional team will monitor participants’ learning and engagement daily through rigorous real-time data analysis and observations, using that data to plan learning and mentoring interventions to provide the right support to each student. We will also seek to provide equipment and subsidies for internet connectivity so access can be as inclusive as possible. Generation works with local IT and HR associations (AMITI, AMEDIRH, INDEX) and directly with employers to secure interviews for graduates. We will provide mentorship during the first 3 months upon graduation to support participants during placement and onboarding and follow up regularly with employers and graduates to track outcomes.

18-29 years old Opportunity Youth from Mexico  (50% of them will be men and the other 50% women). Will be people who live in families with an income of less than $400 USD per month, and/or live in a situation of unemployment (they are actively looking for a job and have been unemployed for more than three months). The main characteristic will be that they would not have the technical and soft skills the job market requires and are not able to access other upskilling opportunities.

Generation is the fastest-scaling and largest demand-driven global youth employment program by annual volume. In seven years of operation, we have supported more than 100,000 young people across 18 countries, 261 cities, and 40 professions in different sectors like: tech, healthcare, customer service, employer essentials, green, and skilled trades. We have more than 14,000 employer partners that hire our graduates. Most of our learners have some secondary education, and for most of them, Generation represents the opportunity for their first-ever formal job. Also, we enhance women’s labor inclusion so 53% of our learners are female, and 36% have caring responsibilities for children or other family members.

Generation Mexico was launched in 2016 and has graduated 4,000 young people in different programs, such as software development, retail, financial service sales, and customer service. Since 2019, our flagship program, Jr Java Developer, has graduated 1500+ learners and placed them across 80 employer partners like: Oracle, MC1, HCL, IBM, Deloitte, Accenture, TCS, among others in Jalisco and Mexico City.

Beyond technical skills, all Generation participants develop key mindsets and behavioral skills that will help them succeed at their new professions.

In seven years of operation, we have supported more than 100,000 young people across 18 countries, 261 cities, and 40 professions in different sectors like: tech, healthcare, customer service, employer essentials, green, and skilled trades. We have more than 14,000 employer partners that hire our graduates.

Generation Mexico was launched in 2016 and has graduated more than 4,000 young people in different programs, such as software development, retail, financial service sales, and customer service. Since 2019, our Jr. Java Developer program has graduated more than 2,000 learners and placed them across 80 employer partners like Accenture, Oracle, MC1, HCL, IBM, and Deloitte, among others in Mexico City, Jalisco, and Nuevo Leon. Our Jr. Java Developer program is transforming hundreds of lives. We have helped more than 2,000 people, of whom 60% had no previous programming knowledge, and 70% were college graduates who were unemployed or underemployed (working in call centers, retail, or service roles). Now they can access new job opportunities. We have a placement rate of 90% within 180 days after program completion, and 89% remained in their first role after one year, compared to the ~50% annual turnover estimated for the industry. Our graduates see a 3-5x increase in their income from their first job after Generation.

For Generation it is important, in addition to receiving financing, to have the opportunity to:

• Professionalize our staff in different areas; hard and soft skills.
• Have coaching for our different area leaders.
• Have the opportunity to build a network of employers who want to be part of our solution to impact youth employability.
• Being able to generate an impact evaluation carried out by an external expert, helps us enhance our project.
• Be part of a network of experts and colleagues who help us with experiences and work together to influence improving the conditions of youth employability in Mexico.
• Create our business model to scale our program.

GENERATION’S SOLUTION

Our seven-step approach is designed to yield high employment and income outcomes consistently and cost-effectively across countries and professions.

We leverage existing workforce system stakeholders and infrastructure to deliver our programming.

Generation focuses on supporting communities who would be otherwise unable to access employment opportunities.

Generation has mobilized 14,000+ employers globally to hire our graduates based on their demonstrated skills.

We gather data along each of our seven steps and up to six years after program completion, reaching 40 million data points thus far.

1. YOUTH

Outputs:

• Self-assessment of community and support
• Self-assessment of community and support
• Behavior and mindset scorecards improve over time
• # of days employed
• Pre/post-Gen wage increase
• Job attainment rate
• Speed to promotion (relative to peers vs. absolute time)
• Wage increase since time on the job

Short-term outcomes (1 year)

• Generation graduates feel a strong sense of community and support
• Generation graduates have an improved future outlook
• Generation graduates demonstrate behavioral changes and mindset shifts
• Generation graduates earn stable, livable wages to support themselves and their dependents
• Generation graduates are placed on viable, high-growth career pathways

Long-term outcomes (2-5 years)

• Improved physical and mental well-being
• Improved financial health
• Demonstrable career growth

Impact: Generation graduates are empowered to build sustainable, thriving careers

2.-EMPLOYERS

Outputs

• Employers maintain robust data collection and management practices
• Generation hires who differ from a profile of a “typical” hire comprise an increasing proportion of job vacancies1
• Increased proportion of vacancies per profession, per location filled by Generation graduates
• Reduced cost-per-hire (e.g., recruiting, training, productivity)
• Wages earned
• # of days employed 
• # of Generation grads per employer
• % of employers would hire a Generation graduate again

Short-term outcomes (1 year)

• Employers access talent pool that they would not otherwise have been able to
• Employers invest in actively building an entry and mid-level talent pipeline
• Employers have increased capabilities to take action on pain points
• Demonstrated ROI ($ value) for Generation methodology
• Embedded, long-standing partnerships with employers
• Decreasing CPED and increasing wage: cost per program (relative to other
• solutions and over time)

Long-term outcomes (2-5 years)

Employers change the way they recruit, hire, train,  and develop their talent
(e.g., adopt impact hiring practices, pay livable wages)

Impact:Employers access and develop the highly skilled, motivated talent that they need

3.-SOCIETY

Outputs

• Self-assessment of quality of life for dependents and/or families (e.g.,
• educational opportunities, housing)
• % of Generation graduates earning livable wages
• Unemployment rate by city and by profession
• % of Generation graduates participating in government benefits programs 
• Unemployment rate by city and by profession
• % of Generation graduates in a profession in a given city
• Local, state, and federal spend on government benefits programs

Short-term outcomes (1 year)

• Generation graduates earn stable, livable wages that improve the quality of life for dependents and/or families
• Generation graduates decrease participation in government benefit programs

Long-term outcomes (2-5 years)

• Dependents and/or families of Generation graduates experience improved quality of life
• There is measurable and inclusive economic growth in cities with a high volume of Generation graduates

Impact: The Generation ecosystem—graduates, employers, and program partners—create a ripple effect of positive returns for society

Target outcomes

·       Registration: 4000 youth will enroll in the Generation Mexico's program.

·       Graduation: 80% of the enrolled participants will complete the program.

·       Job placement: 80% of graduates are employed within 6 months after graduation.

·       Sustained employment: 60% of graduates still employed 180 days after first placement.

Income increases post-Generation: 80% of graduates obtain jobs with 3X income uplift vs. pre Generation income.

We collect demographic data (e.g. gender, age, race, educational attainment, etc) at the start of our programs to ensure we reach our target populations. We also collect qualitative and quantitative data through formal, anonymous feedback mechanisms throughout the program to bring our learners’ voices into improving the effectiveness of our programs. These mechanisms include:

• Classroom Pulse Survey during Cohort: Learners answer focused questions on: 

(i) weekly objectives. 

(ii) instructional delivery (e.g., teaching methods); 

(iii) learner engagement (e.g., opportunities for questions, dialogue, etc.).

• End-of-Program Evaluation: Learners provide feedback on the overall program through our Participant Survey, which measures a learner’s experience with:

(i) the curriculum (e.g., relevance, preparedness for job); 

(ii) the instructor (e.g., relationship, content knowledge, instructional delivery); 

(iii) the learning environment (e.g.,classroom space, learning materials, and social support); 

(iv) Generation as a whole

Participant Focus Group Discussion, which provides a deeper examination of the above topics.

We remain in touch with our graduates for over one year post-graduation to gather data on their income-level, employment situation and overall well-being.

In parallel to our ongoing dialogue with graduates, we ask employers for feedback regarding the on-the-job performance of our learners, at regular intervals.

Generation software ecosystem supports over ~40K users a month, divided into several technologies that provide a solid solution. Our ecosystem is divided into 3 portals: Staff, Learner and Employer. These portals use two technologies for the backend -Javascript and Apex (Salesforce)- and Javascript for the frontend. This portal is built based on a Salesforce customized instance and our proprietary recruitment system, both systems are interconnected providing an integrated platform allowing all departments to track different interactions, including those with learners, employers, and alumni. Through this platform, all departments have modules built for them to help track different processes, and to provide a single platform to view all operations. We can systematically capture learner data and can accurately track and report each learner’s journey from mobilization, bootcamp, and measure postgraduate outcomes. The tool is also used for lead generation, tracking, and conversion. As part of the integrations connected with Staff Portal are Qualtrics, HireVue, Classmarjer, and Typeform.

In Mexico, we are 18 people collaborating in Generation Mexico, and 2 contractors.

Generation Mexico was launched in 2016, We have staff working with Generation for 7 years. I have worked for Generation Mexico since 2021.

In Mexico, We have a processes that include e.g., standardized recruitment and annual evaluation processes, defined pay/promotion structures, standardized feedback mechanisms, and working groups. The anonymized data pertains to belonging to under-represented groups; race, ethnicity, caste; gender identity; identifying as transgender; sexual orientation; family status; career/caring responsibilities; veteran status; disability; native language versus business language, and educational attainment.

We support important initiatives that were prioritized by the group, including supporting well-being globally and developing inclusive solutions to achieve balance, avoid burn-out, and create an environment where all employees can feel they belong and thrive.

Jobs and direct engagement with employers. Generation is an employer-focused program. We identify a variety of high-demand, medium-skill roles characterized by high shortages, turnover, or productivity variation in a given community and work with employers to pre-confirm job openings into which Generation program graduates can be placed.

Recruitment of candidates. Generation targets those young people who are most affected by unemployment from a variety of sources, including grassroots communities and faith-based organizations, social media, government agencies/ministries, and alumni referrals. We select students based on the level of literacy/numeracy and intrinsics appropriate to the target role, and their commitment to improving their future and wellbeing.

Training.Integrated job readiness training from 12 to 16 weeks. Generation boot camps (12-16 weeks) are anchored in repeated, intensive practice of the most important activities (what we call 'breakout moments') of the target profession, integrating relevant technical, behavioral, and mindset skills in each module program every day. The Generation curriculum uses a four-stage approach (understand, practice, reflect, and reinforce.

Interviews with employers. After we have prepared our students in a specific career, we connect them directly with employers who are ready to hire so they can achieve job placement immediately. This is a key differentiator between Generation and most other employment and training programs. While many programs focus solely on training and not placement, they have low employment outcomes (10-20%). Generation maintains an employment rate of over 80%-90% within 180 days of graduation.

Mentoring and community. All Generation students also receive meaningful mentoring from professional mentors during boot camp. We believe that personal and professional success are closely intertwined: when personal lives are well managed, the participants are more confident and committed to their work. Career mentoring continues for the first six months after graduation, as graduates adjust to their new jobs. We also develop a social circle of support through networking and events for students and alumni share their personal and work experiences.

Return on investment. We rigorously track the short- and long-term impact of Generation concerning, participant well-being (income, personal well-being) and return on investment for employers (recruitment and training cost, productivity and quality outcomes, retention and speed of promotion) Additionally, we have recently launched an effort to evaluate social impact (reduced welfare cost, neighborhood impact, etc.). We have also developed new measures of program effectiveness, such as "cost per day employed," which is similar to a total cost of ownership metric, and "salary-to-cost ratio" (starting salary relative to total training cost). We believe these are more accurate than typical measures of effectiveness used in the sector today (e.g. training cost).

Data at the heart of our work. From the day young people apply to the program, we begin tracking their data through the recruiting process, from boot camp to placement to job performance. We use this data to develop insights into the current effectiveness of our program and further improve our results.

Our main goals for 2030 are: 

1.     Prepare and place more than 8,000 young people.

2.     Being  recognized by our employer partners as a source of qualified talent. 

To achieve these goals, we have presented Generation to different donors interested in financing youth employability and reskilling programs that can support our operations for 2025 and beyond. So far, we have presented 15 grant applications to support the program through 2025 and 2026, we are working with the Global Team to apply for multinational grant projects. We are creating new strategies for sustainability, involving charging companies a recruitment fee per graduate hired that could potentially unfold a new revenue stream for the organization.  

Since 2016, Generation Mexico has mobilized more than 3,000,000 US. Our main donors have been: USAID, Citi Foundation, BlackRock, Citi Banamex, Nacional Monte de Piedad, Coppel Foundation, Lenovo Foundation, Hilton Foundation, IDR, Ernest & Young, Accenture, Credit Suisse, Fundación Bécalos and JP Morgan Foundation, among others.

In 2024 we have been selected by an initiative of 6 technology companies and the Mexican Association of the Information Technology Industry, to start a collaboration project "Abriendo Puertas" (Open Doors), where Generation will train young people, and companies will employ them, and finance the project. The plan is that this initiative lasts at least 5 years, and will begin at the end of 2024.