Bringing skills training to one million girls around the world
In March 2022, the Government launched its new Girls’ Education Skills Partnership (GESP) initiative. Drawing on our 10 year involvement with its flagship Girls’ Education Challenge programme, we’re giving in-kind support to help improve education and skills for one million women and girls in developing countries.
Setting the scene
This latest £20m Government investment, which was launched on International Women’s Day, will bring businesses together to provide high-quality skills training.
We know that investing in girls’ education helps lift communities out of poverty and protects girls from early marriage, forced labour and gender-based violence.
How we helped
We are deploying a breadth of professional experience and skills from our firm in support. Specific activities include grant management, strategic board involvement, and a range of thought leadership and advocacy activities, including promoting the GESP programme and its wider agenda through events, conferences, social media platforms and the PwC global network platform.
Charities, schools and colleges stand to gain funds from the programme, especially for projects that will improve access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills for girls.
This is the UK’s first education partnership of its kind. Other partners include Unilever, Pearson, Microsoft, Accenture, Standard Chartered, United Bank for Africa, Coursera, Vodafone, BP and Cognizant.
“Now more than ever is it essential for emerging economies to have the right people in place with the right skills, and this new initiative will make a strong contribution to this. It’s also very aligned to our PwC Purpose.”
Our impact
Having formally launched earlier this year, the GESP has received and is assessing grant applications to fund the first two projects in Bangladesh and Nigeria. GESP will award up to eight grants through the challenge fund component, each between £1-2 million. Projects will target adolescent girls and young women aged 13-24 years, providing high-quality and market-relevant skills training to around one million girls and women, so they can become entrepreneurial and employable.
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