- Overview
- Gender
- Financing for Higher Education Institutions
Jobs are at the center of our education strategy. Quality jobs are drivers of economic growth, as they boost productivity, reduce poverty, drive inclusion, and support innovation and the development of private enterprises. IFC helps institutions better match the skills they teach to the demands of the labor market, while preparing students for tomorrow’s global workforce.
IFC’s investments in private sector higher education institutions help expand access to the learning young people need to gain the skills necessary to find jobs and succeed.
According to IFC’s employability research, 57% of graduates fail to find a full-time job in their specialty. At the same time, 75% of employers say they can’t find candidates with the right skills. Addressing this gap is vital, especially with the expected surge in higher education demand, which is projected to double to over 470 million students by 2035, predominantly in emerging markets.
IFC’s impact
- By 2023, Vitae had reached 1.5 million students through 123 institutions worldwide.
- In Colombia, Javeriana leveraged IFC’s Vitae tool to significantly boost the employability of its graduates, with about 85 percent of its students securing a job in less than a year after graduation.
- Through IFC’s training and support, Accra Technical University in Ghana has set up its industry-led advisory committees, and has witnessed a growth in internship placements, new workplace-based learning opportunities, and revised curriculums based on employer representative inputs. Within four months of setting up its Program Advisory Committee, 50% of mechanical engineering students secured internships in leading automobile companies.
