Vocational Education
USAID has developed a vocational training program to help the Iraqi government respond to the challenges of high unemployment, an under-skilled workforce and the needs of an emerging private sector. In collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA), this two-year, $88 million program is improving the skills of Iraq's workforce through Vocational and Technical Training Centers (VTTCs) and Employment Service Centers (ESCs).
Under the Ba'athist government, MOSLA's employment and vocational training services were neglected, understaffed, inadequately supplied and heavily looted. Knowing that a well-trained workforce is essential to the reconstruction effort as well as stability in Iraq, USAID designed the program to revitalize the vocational training and employment service capacity of MOLSA.
The initiative will build on the training already offered by MOLSA at existing VTTCs with an emphasis on vocational training, technical training, and employment services. USAID's contract partner is also providing experienced personnel, equipment, and funding to assist the existing centers. The program is training MOLSA staff which will allow them to independently manage and sustain the centers.
The centers will be used by unemployed youth (17 and older), demobilized soldiers and militia, displaced persons, women, agricultural workers and others without marketable skills.
Currently, the centers offer courses in:
- Welding
- Lathe work
- Carpentry
- Electrical functions
- Auto mechanics
- Tailoring
- Cosmetology
- Plumbing
- Small appliance repair
- Elevator repair
English, computer training, and basic Arabic literacy are also offered as support courses.
Services include outreach counselors to match jobs with job seekers and to train MOLSA's employees, assistance to refine MOLSA's database of the unemployed, and on-the-job training for job seekers.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Over 1,000 trainees enrolled in MOLSA vocational training programs.
- Over 1,500 workers placed in jobs in southern Iraq.
NEXT STEPS
USAID's vocational training program will focus on providing training in those vocational skills which support reconstruction efforts in essential services (i.e., power, water, and sewage). By focusing on these essential services, USAID will be able to augment the ongoing work of the Project Contracting Office directed at ongoing utilities operations and maintenance. Separately, USAID is exploring options and potential partners in vocational training such as multi-national and Iraqi companies and organizations while continuing the important work to VTTCs and ESCs.
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