In an effort to address unemployment in Egyptian vulnerable areas, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been organising 29 training courses in five governorates as part of a nationwide project.
According to the WFP, the initiative supports and empowers young people with the needed skills for eight different occupations, with about 500 young men and women enrolled in the first phase, in the age group of 18-34 years old.
The initiative is being implemented under the supervision of the Ministry of Manpower and WFP in collaboration with Qodra — a leading training and skills development company.
By adopting an advanced training approach that upgrades the training curriculum for different professions, integrates digital technology and educational sources, the initiative titled ‘Your Skills are the Foundation of Your Career’ seeks to build capacities for cadres and trainers in different directorates and training centres in specialised vocational areas supervised by the manpower ministry.
“Through this project, the Ministry of Manpower seeks to address the problem of unemployment, and training is an important pillar for solving this complex problem. Before starting this training, we, in coordination with WFP, studied the labour market to identify the required occupations, specialties, and technical skills, and we came up with these training programmes that are now being implemented,” Mohammed Anwar, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Manpower in Beni Suef said during a field visit organised by the UN Information Centre in Cairo in partnership with the WFP.
The field visit included several training units, including a sewing and embroidery workshop, mobile maintenance, air conditioning and refrigeration, as well as a mobile training unit at Nasser Centre, Ashment Village, which is affiliated with the Decent Life Presidential Initiative.
“As part of an agreement with the ministry, the WFP has been implementing an initiative launched by Minister of Manpower Mohamed Saafan. In its first stage, the initiative aims to empower young people with the required skills so that they can enter the labour force in the private sector and new fields, and we aim to develop the training centres of the ministry, operating in almost all Egyptian governorates. In collaboration with the manpower ministry, we are trying to integrate technology into the training process by updating training curricula, introducing modern teaching tools, developing equipment used in training, and connecting with private sector companies,” said Doaa Arafa, the Head of the Social Protection Programme at the WFP.
The training also includes the development of soft skills for trainees, including communication, problem-solving, and other skills that help them enter the labour market. Moreover, specialised trainers and consultants are being recruited in cooperation with Qodra as well as several private sector partners, such as Ghabour, Toshiba Al-Araby, and Hilton in parallel with the role of the competent trainers of the ministry.
Through this cooperation, the initiative is meant to strengthen institutional capacities and train ministry teams at different directorates, vocational training centres, and labour offices. The project also aims to implement modern training programmes to develop the young people’s capacities and skill kits, create meaningful partnerships with the private sector, and to maximise the use of technology.
