Youth Apprenticeship



Volta Resilient Foundation learned early on that not all children can be reintegrated into basic school at their education level. This is because some children are trafficked and in forced labor for 5 to 15 years meaning they are returned to their community almost as adults with little to no basic education. When they enter school between 14 to 19 years of age and are in class with very young children, they often feel insecure, uncomfortable, and can be mocked by their juniors. Especially for older boys this can feel like a losing solution and often leads to them dropping out to enter the workforce as very poorly paid unskilled laborers, or to go back to their work as a trafficked victim to perpetuate the same abuses on other children.


To stop this result Volta Resilient Foundation has put in place community-based apprenticeships by partnering with local electricians, mechanics, plumbers, metal workers, carpenters, seamstresses , and other skilled practitioners to set up a youth apprenticeship program for survivors. Through this program we have partnered with over 30 practitioners of many professions from many parts of Ada to provide the necessary training for survivors to become proficient in a skill allowing them to increase their earning and business potential. In addition to apprenticeship, the survivors are enrolled in a business entrepreneurship course led by Volta Resilient Foundation staff which incorporates topics such as financial literacy, business planning, and strategy.