Time: Wednesday, 10:00-12:00 a.m.
Date: 07 November 2018
355 beneficiaries (202 females & 153 males) graduated from Help TVET & Job Facilitation project after successful completion of 6-month training in advance accounting, advanced tailoring, food and dairy process, carpet weaving, handicraft, mobile phone repair, MDF or modern carpentry, bag- making and house gas plumbing system in Ansari center, handicraft class for the disabled in Afghanistan National Association of the Blind center, motor-bike mechanic class and food process in Gozara district. Of these 355 graduates, 261 in Ansari VTC, 21 in ANAB and 73 of them in mobile vocational training center of Gozara district benefited from training.
These trainings are offered in accordance with the “Annual Research on Marketable Vocations” which is carried out by Help local partner, Organization for Sustainable Aid in Afghanistan / OSAA, in order to provide market-demanded job opportunities to beneficiaries. Upon graduation, these beneficiaries enter labor market using cooperation and consultancies of OSAA Employment and Entrepreneurship Services Center / EESC.
A number of government officials including manager of Labor Unit and manager of Vocational Skills Development Unit of Herat DoLSA, Head of Dept. of Economy, heads and some staff of Help INGO, OSAA, Neswan and ANAB organizations, deputy of Mine and Industry Dept., directors of some cooperating companies, local community elders, media, trainers and outgoing trainees and current beneficiaries of vocational training had participated in this ceremony.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Mr. Zabihullah Monib, Help Country Director, welcomed the guests and congratulated to the graduates of this program.
He said it is a privilege that today we are celebrating the graduation ceremony for 355 beneficiaries of this round of vocational training. For the last eight years, Ansari center has been one of the biggest centers in west zone that is given to Help INGO by DoLSA.
Every year, around 1000 beneficiaries graduate from this center and fortunately 70% of them successfully enter labor market. Individuals undergo a complete vocational training cycle in Help’s VTCs. Besides 6-month vocational training, it also includes small business, certification, and cooperation in establishing cooperatives and reintegrating the graduates into the market.
Mr. Monib added that BMZ / Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of German Government has been the main donor of this program during 2017 and 2018. Meanwhile, WFP has been helping the beneficiaries with Food for Training / FFT.
OSAA cooperates and consults with these beneficiaries in offering Small Business training. Neswan and ANAB Associations have cooperated in offering special courses for women and disabled people. He expressed his gratitude to all these partners for their cooperation and support and hoped that with synergy we wrap up this program and successfully start new programs.
At the end, Mr. Monib added that since Herat is the Industrial and cultural hub in Afghanistan, we want it to be the vocational hub as well. We also try to start entrepreneurship programs.
Then, two of the graduates of this program talked about their experience from this vocational training round. They said when they graduated from college, they did not have any skill and could not find job because they were taught theories at the college. Now after learning skills at Ansari vocational training center, they could enter labor market and find decent jobs.
Then Mr. Tawab Hussaini, manager of employment and entrepreneurship service center /EESC, introduced EESC and talked on its services. He stated that beside job facilitation, this center conducts annual research on marketable skills each year and tries to establish cooperatives.
At the end, Aziz Ahmad Popal, manager of skills development unit of DoLSA, appreciated the hard work of all Help employees and trainers in offering TVET courses and congratulated to the graduates of this round.
Mr. Popal added that DoLSA tries to support the organizations that are working on vocational training. He also stated that DoLSA monitors their activities. At the end he said that the graduates can make groups of 11 people, get license from DoLSA and start working.
At the end of this ceremony, tool-kits which were prepared by Help were distributed to graduates so that they can start their own small businesses. The graduates of this round of training were pleased and satisfied of learning a vocation and expressed their gratitude to Help INGO and other partner organizations offering such effective programs for youths.
Source: Help Media and Culture Department.