Help International German Organization and Organization for Sustainable Aid in Afghanistan (OSAA) in close cooperation with Herat Department of Labor and Social Affairs conducted the first Vocational Employment Fair in Herat.
The fair will be open to visitors from 25/12/2016 to 29/12/2016 -one week- in Employment Services Center and flea market of Women Services and Economic Cooperative.
The goal of this fair was to introduce the Technical, Vocational and Educational Trainings (TVET), the professionally trained graduates of TVET and their products.
Mohammad Asif Saeedi, Head of Herat Provincial Human Resources Department, Abdul Qaiyoum Afghan Head of Department of Labor and Social Affairs (DoLSA), Mohammad Yonis Rahnaward, Head of Department of Economy, Nasir Ahmad Fazli, Head of Department of Ecology, Representatives of industrial & craftsmen unions, Representatives of partner NGOs, employers, TVET graduates and Help & OSAA staff attended the ceremony.
The employment fair was held under the project AFG 83 “Promotion of TVET and facilitation of Employment in Herat and Bamyan” of Help and OSAA. This project started on July 1st 2015 and will last until 30 April 2017 and is funded by Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In 22 months, 950 eligible male and female beneficiaries will be trained and introduced to local market. Another activity of this project is Asylum and Job Information Campaign on Risks of illegal emigration and job & training opportunities in Afghanistan for 1500 beneficiaries in Herat and Bamyan.
Zabihullah Monib Taheri, Country Director for Help in Afghanistan said: This Fair can strengthen the relationship between private and public sector employers and the jobseekers and will enable the young motivated job seekers to exhibit their activities and products.
Abdul Qaiyoum Afghan, head of DoLSA indicated during the inauguration of this fair that continuity of such programs leads the country to sustainable development. People who missed higher education for any reason, will be absorbed by these programs and after graduation from vocational trainings will be replaced with vocational foreign citizens working in the country.
In the last 6 months of the year 2016, 288 people graduated from vocational trainings of Help, 176 of them were female and 112 were male beneficiaries.
Help started Vocational trainings since 2008 funded by European Union and German Government in cooperation with Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Afghanistan, respective the departments in Herat and Bamyan. Help and its partners are able to train more than 1,000 individuals in marketable vocations in Herat and Bamyan yearly.
In the end of this ceremony, the one-week Employment Fair was inaugurated by cutting the ribbons and the fair was open to the public until the end of the week.
Source: Help Media and Culture Department