Give Argentine Youth a Chance

What concerns us?

In Argentina, the youth unemployment rate is approximately three times higher than the national average, and this age group also experiences the highest rates of informal employment. Additionally, it is estimated that one in four young people aged 18 to 24 neither study nor work—commonly referred to as a "double exclusion." This issue is even more pronounced in vulnerable communities, where it affects nearly half of this population.

Our Proposal

The Graduate Network of Fundación Cimientos was created to support young people from vulnerable socioeconomic contexts in their transition beyond secondary school, helping them continue studying, access quality employment, and build informed and meaningful life and career pathways.

The program operates as a bridge between secondary education and post-secondary opportunities, working in close articulation with the Futuros Egresados Program (PFE). Its approach combines vocational guidance, employability training, exposure to professional environments, and scholarship and educational support.

Through a set of structured interventions, the program seeks to strengthen young people’s capacities, broaden their horizons, and provide concrete tools to navigate both educational and labor market transitions.

Our intervention model: preparing for work and study transitions

During 2026, the Graduate Network, in coordination with other Cimientos programs and partner organizations, implemented a series of structured experiences designed to support young people in the development of their occupational and professional projects.

These activities combine in-person and virtual formats and focus on strengthening motivation, providing exposure to the world of work, and building practical employability skills. Key areas of work include:

• Work culture and motivation
• Job readiness and employability skills
• Exposure to professional pathways and role models
• Transition to higher education
• Interaction with professionals from different sectors

These spaces are particularly relevant for young people, as they provide direct contact with the world beyond school and support them in imagining and designing future trajectories.

A key element of the strategy is the active involvement of partner organizations and volunteers, who contribute through meaningful exchanges with students, offering real-world perspectives, guidance, and inspiration.

Key activities in 2026

1. Professional Panels

Professional Panels provide students with the opportunity to engage directly with professionals from diverse fields and career paths. Volunteers share their academic, professional, and personal trajectories, including challenges, motivations, and key decisions.

These exchanges aim to provide students with concrete information about different careers, including academic requirements, labor market opportunities, study environments, and personal reflections on professional life.

Topics commonly addressed include:

• career choice and motivations
• labor market opportunities
• study pathways and institutions
• required competencies
• challenges and learnings from professional practice

2. Mock Job Interviews

This activity simulates real recruitment interviews conducted by volunteers, many of whom have experience in human resources or talent selection.

For many participants, this represents their first exposure to a formal interview setting. The objective is to strengthen confidence, communication skills, and familiarity with recruitment processes, helping young people better prepare for future employment opportunities.

3. Employability Workshops

These workshops focus on developing practical tools for labor market insertion, including:

• CV building
• LinkedIn profile development
• job search strategies and channels
• interview preparation
• soft skills development (communication, teamwork, creativity, adaptability)

The workshops aim to provide concrete and applicable tools that strengthen young people’s employability and autonomy in job search processes.

Looking ahead

As we move forward in 2026, the Graduate Network will continue strengthening its role as a bridge between secondary education and post-school pathways.

Key priorities include:

• expanding access to employability and orientation activities across regions
• strengthening articulation with Futuros Egresados to ensure continuity of support
• deepening partnerships with companies and volunteers to enhance experiential learning opportunities
• consolidating hybrid delivery formats to increase scalability and access
• reinforcing tools that support informed decision-making for education and employment transitions

The program remains committed to ensuring that young people in Argentina not only complete school, but are also better prepared to navigate the opportunities and challenges that follow.

What concerns us?

According to the most recent official data, Argentina’s unemployment rate stood at 7.6% in the second quarter of this year, while labor informality continues to rise. Among young people aged 18 to 24, unemployment reaches 19.2%, and 63.4% of those who are employed work under informal conditions. These figures are compounded by significant regional and gender disparities, revealing that economic recovery has not been evenly distributed across the population.

Recent evaluations add a critical layer to this context: only 16% of young people in Argentina aspire to a salaried job in formal employment. High levels of dissatisfaction, job instability, and a weak sense of identification with employers are reshaping labor expectations among younger generations. At the same time, nearly half of young job seekers believe that formal education did not adequately prepare them for the world of work, reinforcing barriers to labor market inclusion and deepening cycles of exclusion.

What do we do?

In this context, the Cimientos Graduate Network was created with a clear objective: to support young people in vulnerable socioeconomic situations so they can continue their studies, access quality employment, and build a meaningful life project. This support is delivered through concrete and sustained actions, including vocational guidance, job readiness training, job placement support with companies, scholarship management for higher education, and training and exchange activities that broaden horizons and expand opportunities.

The Graduate Network works in close coordination with the Future Graduates Program (PFE), creating a bridge between the completion of secondary school and the transition to post-secondary education or employment. This articulation is structured around two strategic axes—Higher Education and Vocational Guidance—ensuring continuity of support and reinforcing young people’s capacity to make informed decisions about their future.

Preparing for work: experiences that make a difference

Throughout 2025, 4,097 adolescents and young people received opportunities for job readiness training aimed at strengthening their life projects. Over the course of the year, we implemented more than six key initiatives, designed to respond to the concrete challenges young people face when entering the labor market.

These initiatives included a Job Interview Marathon, during which more than 100 mock interviews were conducted with personalized feedback from human resources specialists, who shared practical tools for job searching and interview preparation. We also organized a National Virtual Graduates Meeting, webinars focused on adaptation to university life, vocational guidance and employability workshops, and provided individual support for applications to higher education scholarships. In addition, inspirational transition days were held for students in the final years of secondary school, creating spaces for reflection, guidance, and exchange with professionals and role models.

Together, these experiences combined technical learning, socio-emotional skill development, and close accompaniment, contributing to greater preparedness, confidence, and clarity among young people as they navigate their educational and professional transitions.

Looking ahead

As we close this 2025 Year in Review, we recognize what has been achieved and reaffirm our commitment to the years ahead. We look toward 2026 as another year of collaboration and shared purpose, continuing to work in partnership to build a more equitable education system and to ensure that every young person in Argentina truly has a chance.

Links:

• 2025 Year Review
• #MaratondeEmpleo