SKILLS TRAINING INTERVENTIONS FOR STREET-CONNECTED AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH IN URBAN SLUMS: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Street-connected and out-of-school youth are one of the most vulnerable groups in urban slums of LMICs, who are characterized by multiple intersecting factors that hinder them in accessing employment, education, and social inclusion. The present narrative review focuses on the types of skills training interventions, the barriers to participation, the quality of the training delivered, and sustainability of the interventions, with a particular focus on the population in question. The academic literature and gray sources were comprehensively searched to find 37 relevant studies between 2000-2024 related to Technical and Vocational Training, entrepreneurship development, life skills and digital literacy programmes. Although there are various approaches to intervention (such as targeted vocational training, microenterprise projects, or psychosocial support), research indicates that training without tackling structural issues such as poverty, gender-based vulnerabilities, social exclusion, and labour market constraints is not enough. Effective interventions show the integration of several components, such as psychosocial support, livelihood linkages, and mentorship. But there are still major gaps in research on sustainability, disability coverage, gender-specific results, and context-specific effectiveness in urban informal settlements. The review is unanimous that a combination of skills and structural interventions is required to transform the situation of this very marginalised group.