Launched in 2008, Youth:Work brings comprehensive employment and entrepreneurship programs to young people, ages 15 to 29. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Youth:Work enables USAID bureaus and missions to easily access IYF’s proven youth employability programs, services, and expertise. Through Youth:Work, young people gain access to vocational, technical, and life skills training; job-placement services; entrepreneurship training; and support for job creation through start-up and small and medium youth-led enterprises.

To date, the following Youth:Work programs have been established.

• Caribbean Youth Empowerment Program – A three-year, $2.5 million, IT job-training and placement initiative targeting thousands of unemployed youth throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Emploi Habilité -- A one-year program launched in 2009 to train disadvantaged Moroccan youth, ages 15 to 25, in industry-demanded technical and life skills, and place them in tourism sector jobs.
• Obra – A two-year, US$2 million initiative launched in 2009 to ensure that youth at risk in Latin America and the Caribbean have access to the programs and services needed to prepare them for citizenship, work, and life.
• YouthMap -- a four-year, US$10 million project designed to assess youth circumstances as well as support promising programs and practices in positive youth development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Youth Entrepreneurship Development -- a four-year US$15 million initiative created to improve employment, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement opportunities for young Palestinians and to support the Palestinian National Youth Strategy 2011 - 2013.
• Youth for the Future – A five-year, US$30 million employability program, carried out in collaboration with Jordan’s Ministry of Social Development, designed to improve youth employment and civic engagement.
• Youth:Work Mexico -- A three-year, US$3 million initiative launched in 2010 to ensure at-risk youth have opportunities to stay in school, access the job market, and gain the life skills they need to be productive members of society by leveraging private sector resources and boosting community involvement.
• Jasa.kg -- A four-year, $3.2 million civic engagement and entrepreneurship initiative targeting youth throughout the Kyrgyz Republic.
• Tanzania Youth Scholars – A five-year, 3.5 million program that seeks to equip 1,800 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) with educational scholarships and livelihood opportunities to help them reach their full potential. 
• Algeria Youth Opportunity Program – A three-year, $2.7 million youth development program that aims to develop the skills of young Algerians to help them become more employable and engaged members of their communities.  
• Youth:Work Mozambique – A three-year $1.2 million initiative to improve economic livelihood opportunities for highly vulnerable in- and out-of-school children and youth.