Youth employment programme in Asia Pacific

Enabling vulnerable young people to build a better future through hospitality training
  • Over 1,600

    vulnerable young people graduated

  • 2

    countries

  • 9

    years' experience in Asia Pacific

Youth unemployment in Asia Pacific

Why we are doing this

Today there are 31.4 million young people without employment in Asia Pacific.1 While youth employment is rising in the region, without new, decent work opportunities many young people remain at a greater risk of poverty and exploitation.2

Despite the growth of job opportunities, a key issue for many countries in this region is the gap between the skills and experience of young workers and those required by employers.

Hospitality as a solution

As a growing industry with an achievable entry level, good career prospects and jobs to offer, the hospitality industry has the potential to help young people from every background start a rewarding and lifelong career.

  • In 2018, the travel and tourism industry in Asia Pacific grew by 6.4 per cent and accounted for a total 179.6 million jobs.3
  • This growth supports job creation, which is expected to increase by 38 per cent by 2029.4

About this programme

Our youth employment programme supports young people to gain the skills and experience they need to start a rewarding and lifelong career, through training within a hotel and other related places of work.
Group of vietnamese students learning to make a coffee

What we are doing

In 2011, our youth employment programme expanded into Asia Pacific, launching our first programmes in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Our industry-endorsed programme combines classroom training with hands-on experience within a world-leading hotel.

Since then, we have run successful programmes in eight countries across the region, supporting nearly 1,400 students to gain the skills they need to access meaningful employment within the hospitality industry and other sectors.

The programme currently operates in two countries across the region.

Who we are helping

Our programme provides opportunities to young people who are particularly vulnerable. This includes people who’ve grown up without parents, in a difficult family setting or may have experienced various forms of exploitation, discrimination, alcoholism or domestic violence. In particular:

Youth employment programme in Asia Pacific

Where we work

Our youth employment programme in this region is active in two countries:
India · Sri Lanka

Through strategic partnerships with funders and non-profits, we are currently working to grow our programme and deepen our impact in these countries.

Please get in touch to support our programme in any of the above countries, or to discuss other destinations.

Our supported projects in this region

We partner with non-profits, philanthropic organisations, governments and the private sector to scale the impact of our youth employment programme in specific communities and destinations.
Find out more
A young hotel worker laying a table in a hotel restaurant. Our youth employment programme, in partnership with GFEMS, aims to support survivors of human trafficking gain the skills and experience they need to start a rewarding and lifelong career.

Supporting survivors of human trafficking

Building resilience of young people against trafficking through skills development and partnership with the hospitality sector.

Find out more
A young girl is holding a tray after serving drinks, as part of her hospitality training. She is a participant of our youth employment project, TUI Academy Sri Lanka, delivered in partnership with TUI Care Foundation.

TUI Academy Sri Lanka

Opening up new perspectives for young people in Sri Lanka through hospitality training.

Past projects in this region

Hotel worker setting the table at restaurant

US Department of State: Supporting survivors of human trafficking

In 2010, we began a 5-year partnership with the US Department of State’s Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) to explore how our youth employment programme can be adapted to support survivors of human trafficking in key locations. We adapted our programme model to ensure survivors could access the necessary psychological support during their training, as well as implementing a series of awareness raising workshops for hotel staff and local non-profits.

During the grant period, our programme supported over 60 survivors across Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Mexico and Vietnam to gain the skills and confidence they need to build promising careers in the hospitality industry and beyond. Learnings from this project have helped shape our approach to supporting survivors in our on-going programmes and supported the development of our work with Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS).

Find out more about our programme in other regions

Discover more

Middle East and Africa

We are helping young people and working to increase disability inclusion in hospitality in this region.

Discover more
Young hotel housekeeper training how to make a bed. She is a participant of our youth employment programme in Latin America.

Latin America

We have previously supported vulnerable young people in Latin America.

Help us to change the lives of more young people

Find out how to become a partner

We are seeking partnerships with funders and non-profits to increase the impact of this programme in Asia Pacific and across the world.

References