Give Argentine Youth a Chance

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