Date: Monday, 07 January 2019

Time: 14:00 – 16:00

Venue: Provincial Administrative Complex, Civil Service Commission Training Center

The 9th TVET and Employment Round Table was held with the aim of presenting the findings of the annual research on the situation of the professions/vocations in Herat labor market, and the handover of Round Table organization and coordination responsibility to the Department of Labor and Social Affairs of Herat (DoLSA) by Help German INGO and OSAA.

At the outset, Mohammad Ali Soroosh, Help Program Director, welcomed the participants and summarized the agenda and the purpose of the program.

Dr. Noor Ahmad Heidari, Herat Provincial Council Representative, Head of Herat Department of Labor and Social Affairs, National Craftsman Union, Herat Institute of Agriculture, Afghan-Iran VTC, WESA, GP, Help, DACAAR, OSAA, Neswan, NRC, partner companies, civil society organizations and media participated in this round table meeting.

First, Mrs. Elahe Banaei, Director of the Organization for Sustainable Aid in Afghanistan (OSAA), welcomed the participants of the 9th TVET and Employment Round Table and outlined the overall goals for these round tables:

1. The establishment of a network of national and international organizations, government departments, civil society organizations, and representatives of the private sector in the field of TVET and employment, in order to coordinate and collaborate on topics related to vocational training and employment.
2. Encouragement of the government and the private sectors to strongly and sustainably support TVET and employment programs.
3. Involve civil society organizations and the private sectors in contributing to the promotion of market-based needs training and employment.
4. Promotion of vocational training and facilitation of employment services.
5. Getting insights and ideas to improve and develop vocational training and job facilitation.

She then described a summary of the previous 8^th round table meetings and outlined their achievements and outcomes.

Then, Mr. Zabihullah Monib, Country Director of Help, described the objectives, importance and role of TVET and Employment Round Table and formally handed over the responsibility to coordinate and organize upcoming round table meetings to the Herat Department of Labor and Social Affairs. He went on to point out the importance of TVET programs, the provision of employment services, its role in Herat’s socio-economic development, and the importance and impact of coordination among program implementers.

He added: Help and its local partner OSAA, in cooperation with the Herat Department of Labor and Social Affairs, agreed to eliminate lack of cooperation among TVET and employment programs implementers. To this end, these organizations and DoLSA, after the consultation and necessary review, organized the first TVET and Employment Round Table meeting in May 2017 in the conference hall of the Women Cooperative.

In the following, Mr. Monib had a briefing on the guideline of organizing TVET Round Table and its handover to DoLSA, saying: “From now on, the Department of Labor and Social Affairs will be responsible for organizing and conducting TVET and Employment Round Table meetings, so that the challenges and problems facing the vocational training are measured and solutions proposed to them. Also, by the formation of committees, these Round Tables will be followed up to ensure that the outcome will be better than before.

At the end of his speech, Mr. Monib, officially submitted the guideline on how to organize Round Table to Herat DoLSA and wished all the best for organizing and running the meetings for DoLSA.

Then the round table continued with a discussion on the findings of annual research on status of vocations in labor market of Herat province. Mr. Ezmaray Danesh, a professor at the faculty of economics at Herat University, initially explained research goals and said that the research is a gathering of information from various occupations in the city and districts of Herat Province, which has been done by using Delphi research methodology. He said that in the first phase, the professions/vocations in each sector were identified by the people who were at the top of the profession, and in the second phase, the occupations listed were examined through a career questionnaire.

Following this, Seyyed Abdul Tawab Hossaini, director of the Employment Services Center of OSAA, described the findings of the research carried out in 2018. He said that the main focus of this study is the level of occupational saturation in comparison to the population of the city and the districts of Herat province, and the minimum capital estimate for setting up a profession, as well as the recognition of the level of the need to train new vocations.

Dr. Noor Ahmad Heidari, the representative of Herat Provincial Council, talked about his constant support and participation to TVET round table meetings. “Today, our greatest concern is unemployment in the country,” he said. “Even a bigger problem than insecurity, I believe, can be unemployment, and every day we see that it is rising in the country, and this unemployment causes more insecurity in the country. Therefore, holding such round tables, can be an important step in reducing this dilemma.”

Participants presented their ideas and suggestions before the program was finalized.

Finally, Mr. Abdul Qayyum Afghan, director of Herat Department of Labor and Social Affairs, thanked Help and OSAA organizations for preparation, collecting and organizing information on the annual research on occupations in the Herat labor market, and noted that handing over the TVET and Employment Round Table has been a positive step towards sustainability of the plan. Mr. Afghan said that the Department of Labor and Social Affairs, will continue these round table meetings as they have accepted the responsibility. At the end of his speech, he stated that there are many programs through this round table:

• Research on Marketable Occupation;
• Encouraging, reinforcing and developing the professions based on market needs;
• Introducing technical and vocational training in the curriculum of schools;
• Provide specific suggestions for reducing unemployment;
• Provide a comprehensive structure for employment service centers and coordination of these centers for promotion of this process;
• Analyze existing work situations by identifying challenges and finding solutions;
• Supporting and strengthening domestic products;
• Providing facilities for businessmen and craftsmen;
• Sending suggestions and requirements from Herat province to the capital of the country.

We will strive to replace the Economic and Financial Commission Conference in Herat province with the TVET and Employment Round Table aiming at creating solutions for people’s economic and unemployment problems.

The 9th TVET and Employment Round Table ended with the distribution of copies of annual research on professions/vocations in Herat province labor market.

Source: Help Media And Culture Department