Revitalising youth enterprise through skills training

Islamabad : Two months vocational training helped Ameenullah open a mobile phone repair shop in home district of Ziarat in Balochistan province and make a decent living. Previously jobless, the 20-year-old matriculate now takes home Rs18,000 every month on average.

He’s one of around 300 young men and women from underserved communities in Ziarat and Killa Saifullah districts, who were trained in demand-oriented trades by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) through Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP) as the local implementing partner. They were later provided with a two months long internship opportunity. The Citi Foundation-funded initiative, Revitalising Youth Enterprise (RYE), created better livelihood opportunities for them to succeed in the rapidly changing economy, and helped improve standards of living.

As required for the success of any project, the market assessment was carried out to learn about the skills, which were in demand. It was followed by the mapping of training institutes and development of training content packages for nine trades, including mobile repairing, general electrician, UPS repair, submersible pump/transformer repair, livestock management, commercial cooking, fashion design, bedding and quilt making, and beautician.

Aged 18-24 years, the selected youth got accommodation, travel allowance, food, tuition fee, uniforms and tool kits for training and won internships, which enhanced their skills and improved business sense.

Experts at the PPAF, which provided technical support and supervision to the project, facilitated the identification and selection of trainees, and deployed specialised monitoring teams, insist that beneficiary identification, screening and selection turned out to be a major factor for the successful completion of such a programme.

According to them, the trainees, who were semi-skilled and had some prior experience in the vocation, showed more interest in learning new skills and competencies, and utilised the skills more effectively for better incomes.

Under the RYE project, an effective community mobilisation and adoptability of local environment encouraged a large number of girls to take up the training courses. As families in the conservative Ziarat and Killa Saifullah areas don’t allow girls to stay out of home for vocational training and girls don’t have technical and vocational training institute around, courses were arranged for them inside the community. The programme underscored the need for more investment in the development of inclusive approaches to manage such apprenticeship programmes at community level.

The experts also observe that a skills training programme should last at least six months followed by placement of trainees at the relevant private enterprises. Besides, an access to finance in the form of a grant or a loan also plays an integral role in the start-up of micro businesses (shops and workshops) for the participants of such initiatives.

The results of the RYE project highlight the importance of the beneficiaries’ identification and selection for success of such initiatives and suggest that the social mobilisers should have a strong understanding of technical and vocational skills trainings and should use participatory approaches to engage communities and identify their needs. Also, the private sector should be engaged to help the youth learn skills required by the job market and align themselves more closely with it.

If the outputs of such training programmes are to be maximised, they should last at least six months and ideally 12 months, while trainees should be certified by the Trade Testing Board and the certification should be recognised by employers. Also, a mechanism should be there to follow up on the trainees’ progress.

Strong monitoring mechanisms and coordination are essential to ensure smooth implementation and timely escalation of operational bottlenecks. This is something that was done effectively in the project. All stakeholders were onboard with the concept from the very start of the project and roles were clearly defined for all stakeholders. Also, there is a need for a mechanism to be in place to allow complaints and feedback to be addressed during the programme rollout. An access to finance will ensure long-term engagement with the participants and allow them to establish their own small businesses.

During the project implementation, PPAF discovered that new projects for the targeted districts should focus on skill enhancement in sectors, which show better results in terms of employability and income levels. As market assessment is the most important activity ahead of the skill training programme to learn about demand-oriented skills, there should be a focus on project evaluations. Also, more inclusive approaches and institutions should be developed to produce good quality vocational skill training opportunities at the community level to empower girls for their participation in economic activity.