Sweida, SANA – 262 beneficiaries make up the outcome of the youth empowerment center in Sweida during the first half of 2020, nearly seven months after this project was launched.
The center is a joint project as per an MoU between the Social Affairs and Labour Ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It aims at enabling youth and helping them enter the job market through courses to build their capabilities, according to the Director of Sweida Social Affairs and Labour Directorate Bushra Jarbou.
The center begins its work by receiving youths between 18 and 45 years and conducting interviews with them, and based on the results of the interview they are either directed towards vocational training or a suitable job through networking between the center and the private sector.
The vocational training at the center includes a large number of programs, so far including courses for air conditioner maintenance, metal working, making dairy products, pruning fruit trees, making accessories, sewing, accounting, and IT, in addition to providing job opportunities for the beneficiaries.
The center also has a department for entrepreneurship that focuses on raising awareness and holding courses and workshops for entrepreneurial skills and managing micro-enterprises, in addition to providing consultation services regarding the skills needed for starting small businesses and establishing startups.
Some trainees said training at the center is an opportunity to increase their practical experience and gain skills that qualify them for the labor market, especially that most companies require practical experience before accepting academic youth within their staff, while others said that they have specific projects they plan to establish and training at the center helps them take the first step towards applying their ideas correctly.
Baraa Ali /Hazem Sabbagh