Somaliland: 123 Youth and Women Trainees Graduate from NRC’s Vocational Training Programme in Hargeisa

The vocational skill training programme was aimed at meeting the learning skills of displacement-affected youth and women who have been in unstable circumstances, most of them have found themselves without any source of income.

In addition to providing the youth and women trainees with vital skills for employment and income generation, the programme reduces migration movements and enhancing peaceful co-existence.

NRC identified, registered and enrolled 123 youth and women beneficiaries in their preferred trades in selected vocational skill training centres in Hargeisa, Somaliland. They were constituting 62 females and 61 male, and they were enrolled in five different training institutions in Hargeisa.

Enrolled youth and women beneficiaries were trained in beautification (25), digital skill (13), electrician (25), plumbing (25), tailoring (20) and traditional perfume making (15). The trainees completed successfully their course with additional sessions on business and entrepreneurship training and were provided trade specific kits after graduation.

They were also oriented on literacy, numeracy and entrepreneurship alongside the skill trainings. To encourage formation of business groups, trainees were encouraged to establish business hubs and/or plan combined entrepreneurship.

The purpose was to enable learners to become functionally literate, to master basic and relevant literacy and numeracy skills, obtain knowledge and awareness that will further their development and awareness as individuals and as members of their societies, and acquire a skill that is needed in their communities and that will increase their chances of finding apprenticeships or paid work.

A graduation ceremony was arranged for the 123 trainees who had successfully completed the six months vocational training programme where in relevant stakeholders including ministry of education was invited to provide certificates and handover the start-up kit to the beneficiaries.

The programme was part of an integrated project which is funded by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. The project also successfully addressed challenges impeding the protection and recovery potential of women and children affected by displacement.

Resilience building for displacement-affected communities was made possible through specialized protection services for women and children. Protective and child-friendly learning environments were prioritized for displacement affected children and youth, thereby strengthening and expanding prevention and response to Sexually Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and access to protection services for the target group.

Nasra Mohamed, from Somaliland Ministry of Education and Science “The ministry was fully aware of this programme and started working with NRC from the assessment period. We monitored the skill training centres and also worked with NRC and the ministry of labour and social affairs to ensure the selected skills are marketable so that the trainees can easily get jobs”.

Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Somalia, Mohamed Abdi, said “This project is designed to create jobs for 123 youth and women who have graduated from NRC’s vocational training programme. The project was targeting refugees, returnees, IDPs and vulnerable host communities in Hargeisa, Somaliland”.

Abdalla, from King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center thanked to NRC, ministry of education, and the ministry of labour and social affairs for their role in the vocational training programme.