Creating employment perspectives for refugees and host communities in Ethiopia

Project description

Title: Qualifications and employment perspectives for refugees and the host population in Ethiopia. (QEP)
Commissioned by: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)​​​​​​​
Co-funded by​​​​​​​: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)​​​​​​​
Country: Ethiopia
Lead executing acency: Ministry of Labour and Skills (MoLS)​​​​​​​
Overall term: 2017 to 2023

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Context

With over 850,000 refugees, Ethiopia is one of the largest host countries in Africa. However, many refugees cannot provide for themselves. Young people in particular are affected by unemployment. At present, there are still too few vocational training and employment opportunities for them.

Objective

Employment perspectives for refugees and the host population have improved.

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Approach

The project focuses on the following areas:

Improving vocational training: the project adapts existing training courses to the needs of the labour market. It also offers training courses for vocational teachers who can use them to improve their professional and social skills.

Broadening access to vocational training: vocational schools are being transformed into integrative vocational schools where refugees and Ethiopians can learn together. New training courses are also being developed in and around refugee camps. This creates employment perspectives for refugees and Ethiopians alike.

Promoting employment: the project supports the development of start-up centres at vocational schools. In doing so, employment promotion agencies help corporate groups to implement business ideas. The project also strengthens partnerships between companies and vocational schools to facilitate the transition to employment.

Supporting national refugee legislation: the project works with the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Technical Skills (MoLS) and the Ethiopian Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS). It aims to raise awareness among stakeholders about the inclusion of refugees in the vocational training system. The objective is to put Ethiopian refugee legislation into practice.

Enhancing psychosocial services: the project builds on the psychosocial services offered to people affected by conflict. To this end, it trains psychosocial advisors working in the vocational training system.

Last update: December 2022

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Additional information