The high-impact Young Women Building Their Future project for women not in education, employment, or training (NEET), an important social issue, was launched in 2022. The project, backed by the Sabancı Foundation, is carried out by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Sabancı Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

The Young Women Building Their Future project aims to highlight the issues faced by young NEET women aged 18 to 29 and develop mechanisms to resolve these problems and meet their needs. The core project activities include a field research, the development of a digital portal with the Opportunities Map, rights-based empowerment trainings, vocational trainings, mentorship program, a grant program, stakeholder meetings, the creation of a policy recommendation document, and awareness-raising activities.

Project Activities in 2024:

• Vocational training sessions continued in cooperation with local authorities, chambers of industry and commerce, NGOs, public institutions, and the private sector in the project’s pilot provinces: Adana, Diyarbakır, and Izmir. Training was provided in areas such as Software, Data, Electrical Technician Skills, Welding, Human Resources, Customer Service, and Fashion Design. NEET women continued to receive empowerment training through programs such as Access to Rights in collaboration with NGOs and Bar Associations, Job Application Skills in partnership with Sabancı Group companies, and Life Skills in collaboration with the Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV). A total of 1,508 NEET women participated in the training sessions, with 196 of them successfully entering the workforce afterward.
• The Mentorship Program continued to support the personal development and careers of NEET women. Through the online mentorship program, NEET women were matched with women working in various industries. The program facilitated 500 mentee-mentor matches, 1,951 mentoring meetings, and 1,543 hours of mentoring time..
• Seven projects were supported through the Grant Program, aiming to enhance the employability of NEET women and promote collaborative models.
- Ankara Industrialists Association, NEET Women in Industry
- Diyarbakır Chamber of Commerce and Industry, NEET Women in the Labor Market
- Izmir Commodity Exchange Education, Culture, and Social Integration Foundation, Productive Women of the Sea
- Kodluyoruz Association, Women Empowered with Software
- Osmaniye Municipality, Raising Hopes for Earthquake-Affected Women
- SistersLab Association for Women in Science and Technology, Women Software Developers
- Innovative Human Resources Association, NEET Women in Human Resources
• A total of 166 mentees from the 2024 Mentorship program were provided with jobs.

• Through grant projects, including vocational training and employment collaborations in various industries, 530 NEET women were reached, and 176 NEET women were employed.
• The Opportunities Map, facilitating access for NEET women to nearby job placements, educational programs, internships, and entrepreneurial support across Türkiye, remained instrumental in connecting young women with nearly 2,000 opportunities provided by 1,300 institutions.
• As of the third year of the project, 6,000 NEET women were reached through Training Sessions, Mentorship, the Grant Program, and the Opportunities Map, with 800 NEET women securing employment.
• The Social Return on Investment (SROI) method was used to assess the project’s impact. This method allowed the impact of project investments on NEET women to be expressed in financial terms. According to the impact analysis, every 1 Turkish lira invested in the Young Women Building Their Future project generated a social return of 4.14 Turkish lira. The project also created a social value of 45 million Turkish lira annually. The project investments were seen to have brought social benefits and substantial changes in the lives of NEET women. They experienced significant increases in self-confidence, empowerment, awareness, psychological resilience, well-being, supportive relationships, and employability.
• Overall, a boost in motivation was observed in all participants following their participation in the project, particularly for updating CVs, applying for jobs, and attending job interviews, all of which are directly related to employment.
• The impact analysis showed that the project was highly successful and achieved its goals and objectives.