Drawing on a qualitative study of young people in five rural and five urban communities who are part of the Young Lives longitudinal study of 3,000 children and young people in Ethiopia, this policy brief examines the different kinds of jobs and income-generating work young men and women do on their own and in groups and the difficulties they face in finding paid work.

This policy brief draws on qualitative research relating to young people in four communities (one urban and three rural) who are part of the Young Lives longitudinal study of 3,000 children and young people in Ethiopia. Divorce and separation among young people is a rarely studied topic, and our insights show the difficulties young people face in their relationships and marriages, and the impacts of poverty, age, gender and location.

In Ethiopia, agricultural development, industrialisation and private sector investment, along with government job creation initiatives, have brought about radical changes in the employment landscape. This working paper contributes to understanding the work of young men and women in different contexts, both in paid employment and when generating their own income.

This working paper focuses on how young men and women make the transition from school to work and the problems they encounter in doing so. It draws on Young Lives longitudinal qualitative and survey data which document the link between education and work over time.

The paper addresses the following questions: What are the patterns of school to work transitions? What jobs are available for young people? What institutional arrangements support the transition from school to work? What are the challenges? Finally, it examines the implications for policy and programming.

While there is rightly a major focus on child marriage, we know very little about separation and divorce among young couples, either in Ethiopia or elsewhere. How do they negotiate their relationships? What contributes to relationship breakdown? What access do they have to support and services? And what happens after they separate?