At a glance: what you’ll find in our 10-year strategy
Youth unemployment, skills gaps and a rapidly changing world of work present challenges to young people that are urgent, interconnected and global. Our new 10-year strategy sets out exactly how King’s Trust International will respond.
In the full strategy, you’ll discover:
- How we plan to tackle global youth unemployment at scale
- Our strategic goal of empowering one million young people to unlock their potential to find meaningful work
- The five strategic pillars guiding our programmes, partnerships and advocacy
- How we are driving forward digital innovation in our programmatic work
- Our approach to advocating for global youth on the international stage
- How we will measure impact, strengthen local youth ecosystems and stay accountable
Whether you’re a youth-focused organisation, industry leader, policymaker or looking to fund long-term sustainable impact, this strategy outlines how we can work together to unlock opportunity for young people worldwide.
The challenge: why youth employment is one of the defining issues of our time
Young people today are coming of age in a world of growing complexity and instability.
Globally, 15–24-year-olds are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults over 25. In regions including Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, up to one in three young people are not in employment, education or training (NEET). Even graduates struggle to access decent work; in parts of Africa, there is just one formal job for every ten jobseekers.
Looking ahead, the challenge intensifies. Over the next decade, 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will enter the workforce, yet projections suggest only 420 million new jobs will be created.
These labour market pressures do not exist in isolation, they are compounded by:
- The long-term impact of Covid-19, which disrupted education and delayed life opportunities
- Inflation and economic instability, squeezing households and public services
- Rising conflict, now at its highest level since World War II
- The accelerating climate crisis, with more than half of the world’s youth highly vulnerable to climate change
For many young people, the odds have rarely felt more stacked against them.
Our background: 10 years of impact, built on 50 years of experience
King’s Trust International was founded by His Majesty King Charles III at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, with a bold ambition: that every young person should have the chance to succeed.
Over the past decade, we have:
- Supported well over 100,000 young people
- Worked across more than 20 countries
- Partnered with 40+ local organisations rooted in their communities
Our approach is grounded in 50 years of experience from The King’s Trust in the UK and adapted through strong local partnerships. These partners bring deep contextual knowledge, trusted relationships and cultural insight, ensuring programmes are relevant, inclusive and effective.
And our results speak for themselves. Within three months of completing our programmes:
- 80% of adult participants are in work or education
- Over 90% report improved skills and confidence
Behind every statistic is a young person whose life trajectory has changed.
Our vision for the next decade
As we move into our second decade, this strategy is both a moment of reflection and a call to action. Our strategic goal is clear:
To empower one million young people to unlock their potential and access meaningful work.
But scale alone is not enough. Over the next decade, we will focus on lasting change at three levels:
- Individual: equipping young people with skills, confidence and opportunities
- Community: strengthening local organisations and ecosystems
- Systemic: raising awareness of the challenges and opportunities around youth employment
This strategy sets out how we will expand our programmatic impact and details our expanded role in shaping the systems that determine young people’s futures.
How we’ll get there: our five strategic pillars
Our strategy is anchored in five strategic pillars, designed to reinforce one another and maximise impact.
- Deepening our programmatic impact
We will scale and strengthen our proven education, employment and entrepreneurship programmes, ensuring quality, relevance and inclusion as we grow.
- Embracing technology and empowering a digital generation
Digital access and skills are increasingly essential for employability. We will expand our digital platforms and blended delivery models to reach more young people, faster and more effectively.
- Creating scalable solutions with international organisations
To achieve change at scale, we will deepen partnerships with international institutions, governments and global employers, co-creating solutions that can be replicated across regions.
- Supporting and strengthening youth-focused organisations
Strong youth organisations are the backbone of sustainable impact. We will invest in capacity building, supporting partners to strengthen: Programme design and delivery; Safeguarding practices, Monitoring & Evaluation and innovative learning tools.
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- Advocate for global youth
We will amplify youth voices and advocate for greater action on youth employment by: Producing research on young people’s labour market experiences (see our 2025 Future of Work Report), elevating youth perspectives at global forums such as the UN General Assembly, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the Global Labor Market Conference and giving our partners a platform through events and networking opportunities.
Join us in shaping the future of youth employment
It’s often said that young people are our future. While true, young people are also our present.
Their energy, ideas and resilience are essential to solving the world’s greatest challenges, from economic growth to climate action. Our responsibility is to ensure they have the tools, support and opportunities to thrive. We invite you to explore our full 10-year strategy and join us on this journey.
Together, we can build a world where every young person has the chance to succeed.