ILO Somalia NewsletterFirst Edition 16 June 2014

Access to Finance can contribute to Youth EmploymentMubarak Mohamoud Ahmed, 27 years old, lives in Hargeisa town and complet-ed his studies in business administration at the University of Hargeisa. He did not have a clear career path, struggled to com-plete his education and was considering leaving the country after he graduated. Many youth in Somaliland believe either they have no chance of employment or ac-cess to finance for business start ups.

In March 2010 International Labour Or-ganization with the support of the Gov-ernment of Japan organized with So-maliland National Youth Organisation (SONYO), a training for 150 youth on Start Your Business (SYB) which is one of the ILO globally recognized simplified business manuals.

Mubarak had the opportunity to partici-pate in the training for five days in Har-geisa. After the training he sat for exams, passed and moved to the next level of pre-paring his business plan submission. His business plan was viable and he became one of the ten who received a grant of $1,330 to start up their own businesses.

This was the beginning of a new journey for Mubarak. Having studied Business Administration, attending the SYB train-ing and coming from a family involved in business eased the pressure from him to start his own business. Apart from the small grant that he received, his family also contributed $900 for him to start his business. Mubarak started his business next to Alpha University offering pho-tocopy services to the university and

it’s students. Major challenges faced by Mubarak were the perception from the youth, limited capital fund and acquiring space to set up his business.

Mubarak worked hard to take advan-tage of the academic knowledge he had received and soon started to improve his business services, prices were fair and quality of work was good. As a result, his business became the sole photocopy pro-vider for the University and its students.

It is now four years since Mubarak re-ceived the grant and he started his own business. The business has been success-ful and has grown to have more employ-ees. Mubarak married last year and con-tinues to develop his academic career.

Mubarak is a successful business owner who hopes to expand his business to other locations.

His message to the youth is: “There are opportunities in our country, although limited, but one has to be innovative, pa-tient and committed. Everyone has the potential of gaining knowledge, skills and talents but you have to cultivate them oth-erwise you will never achieve your vision in life.Thanks to the Government of Japan who supported ILO technical capabilities and to SONYO who implemented it. Let us work together to save our youth and sup-port them towards the positive side of life.”

INSIDE

Economical impact of Light Engineering and Skills Development Training in Galkayo..........................2

Domino Effect achieved from economically Reintegrat-ing Children Associated with Armed Conflict................3

Training and Capacity Building for Local Economic Development.............................................................4

From the Left: Mubarak in his business place with a new employee

Enhancing Employability through Skills Development in Galkayo

2• •

Light engineering plays an important role in industrialisation where innovation re-sults in the creation of new products and transforming concepts and materials into products. Metal and wood work play an important role in this sector and the em-ployment potential of the sector. It is a corner stone that is underutilized due to production of low quality products the result of a paucity of skills, lack of expo-sure to new materials, new way and ap-propriate, ways of working and the lack of basic input to grant people opportunity to learn. With investment in people, prod-ucts and the necessary infrastructure to support them, the capability to drive the sector to heights of economic and social success are at hand if these points are ad-dressed alongside issues of market chain development and the basic issues of safer work. A majority of workers have injuries caused by lack of the necessary health and safety skills when handling tools and equipments; a prerequisite ahead of also uplifting business and entrepreneurial skills.

Through the support of European Union, the International Labour Organisation, facilitated the Galkayo Vocational Train-ing Centre (GVTC) to train and provided appropriate tools for 48 artisans in light engineering skills alongside offering fur-ther business skills to complement these technical inputs.

The trainees having been selected after rigorous exercise with the Galkayo busi-ness forum and the Galkayo municipality, they have been able to fully comprehend,

undertake and master all the techniques in terms of use of equipment and the nec-essary design points for the fabrication of certain products. Upon introduction to the Centre’s machines following basic technical and safety training, the trainees have been able to work as individuals and groups to showcase the skills gained in the fabrication and manufacture of basic items at higher levels of quality than be-fore in the local market.

As previously noted, a prerequisite was all the artisans being trained in health and safety procedures and also taking part in discussions as to how to set up health and safety procedures for their own longer term wellbeing. This was informed by an initial assessment carried out by GVTC trainers on individual trainees which established the majority of them had in-juries sustained previously in the work place due to lack of awareness/adherence to health and safety procedures. Impor-tantly, the trainees were provided with protective gear and were taught how to use it as a way forward in helping the ar-tisans protect themselves from accidents and safeguarding their wellbeing.

The trainees made new, well finished products for office and home use. Many of us accept such items as mundane and the stuff of every shop shelf and builders mer-chants but in places starved of fresh think-ing this list of products flags a new step in local, light engineering production. Water tanks, metal gates, window frames, school chairs, tables, cupboards, door locks, beds, clothes hungers, garbage collection bins, road signs and safes to store what valuables people have managed to keep. In addition, farm products such as mat-tocks, hoes, sickles rakes and replacement parts for tractor pulled implements such as ploughs and tines for cultivation. These products were made available for sale at the GVTC and the money made from the sales went to the trainees in order to financially support themselves and their families.

Apart from the standard upgrading of the artisans’ skills to enhance their pro-duction, the trainees were also trained on how to recycle waste materials to produce other products. This helped to create and build awareness on means of reducing

wastage and bringing down costs of production while maximizing outputs. For example, the light manufacturing group have made weighing stones (used on weighing scales) from small pieces of scrap metals and the inside parts of car batteries.

The metal work trainees have also de-signed a new garbage collection bin which they would like to market to the Galkayo municipality to buy and install on various points in town to help address the prob-lem of rubbish throughout the town; a practical piece of work to aid in building civic pride in their home town.

The centre has reported a massive uplift in self-confidence amongst those who took part in the courses as their abilities and competence to compete and assert their stake in the local market demand shone through. For example the metal work trainees have designed a new gar-bage collection bin which they would like to propose to the Galkayo municipality to buy and install on various points in town to help address the problem of rubbish throughout the town; a practical piece of work to aid in building civic pride in their home town.

“I received a certificate showing my achievement on completing the wood-work training. The training was very educational and I gained skills on how to make a variety of products such as beds, tables and chairs. I am very thank-ful to the EU, ILO and GVTC for giving me this grand opportunity to gain new skills as well as be able to earn a living for my family,” Mahad Hirsi.

Artisans from the Wood Work Training on a practical lesson

All artisans from the Light Engineering Skills Training

3• •

Results of Economically Reintegrating Children Associated with Armed Conflict

As the “Prevention of Child Recruitment and Reintegration of Children Associated with Armed Forces and Groups in south central Somalia” project, euphemistically known as CAAFAG, comes to a close, its contributions are profound. The project has made telling contributions towards the prevention, release and reintegration of children associated with armed con-flict, both socially and economically, and can clearly be seen on the ground.

The European Union funded project is implemented jointly by, International La-bour Organisation and UNICEF, in part-nership with Elman Peace and Human Rights Center (EPHRC) targeting 200 children in Mogadishu of which, 56 were girls.

ILO provided expertise in the field of vo-cational training and employment sup-port for the children; this is part of the ‘Journey to Work’ and for the care givers, the mothers and guardians of children, linked to International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour, important facets of the ILO’s Decent Work Agen-da. With initial extensive participatory market mapping in Mogadishu, provid-ing a sound knowledge about available employment and income generation op-portunities, ILO successfully facilitated a preliminary vocational orientation and counselling process.

A minimum of 7 month intensive social and economic empowerment training package encompassing a wide variety of gender-responsive vocational skills train-ing combined with cooperative and entre-preneurship training, non formal educa-tion, job placements for the children were offered at the center. ILO and EPHRC developed the skills training taking in to account the vocational skills needs, prior-ities and expectation of both genders thus enhancing active participation of the girl child in the vocational skills training.

The training interventions were conclud-ed in March with a colourful graduation ceremony that later followed with a quick shift of attention from training to inser-tion; meaning finding a use for the skills as the graduates sought to make skills translate to jobs and generate their own income.

Subsequently, a post-training support for micro-enterprise development and wage employment was initiated, successfully fa-cilitating 40 graduates, out of a targeted 100, who had reached the minimum age for employment to access waged employ-ment.

Concurrently, support to business start-ups for another 100 graduates (organized in 6 cooperatives) is currently in process. Finally, through a post placement fol-low-up commissioned by the ILO Mog-adishu office, the successful project ben-eficiaries and respectful host employers (business community) expressed opti-mism and attested to the societal and eco-nomic benefit of the economic reintegra-tion of children.

Maryam, a 16 year old girl working as chef assistant at the Village Restaurant in Mogadishu describes her employ-ment as an eye opener and the begin-ning of her professional journey to be a well-known chef in Somalia. She stat-ed with confidence, “I am work in the morning, get paid while I attend classes in school in the afternoon, to keep my education going. Now I am feeling the joy of freedom from poverty and abus-es, I am like a boss in my house as I am a contributing bread winner in my fam-ily.”

As for the employed youth, they are in agreement that the intervention by the project was timely and has made signif-icant differences to their individual lives and their sense of being together to pos-itively influence those around them; with

most stating their lives and that of their families have changed for the good.

Mr. Ahmed Jama, a well known entrepre-neur and chef who owns a restaurant in one of the villages in Mogadishu has em-ployed two waiters and three cooks from the program. When asked about his ex-perience with the youth, he stated “I have seen a positive change that has positively impacted my business. The youth are mo-tivated, showing great interest in improv-ing their professional skills as chefs and waiters. I want to employ four more wait-ers from the project with the same great attitude to work in my restaurant!”

Finally the project component to sup-port the process of ratifying conventions commenced in December 2012 with a knowledge sharing and regional work-shop on Elimination of worst forms of Child Labour. The workshop included all tripartite members and the advocacy resulted in the signing of the ILO con-ventions on March 20 2014: Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), Right to Organise and Collective Bar-gaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) and Worst Forms of Child Labour Conven-tion, 1999 (No. 182). H.E. Dr Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed, Prime Min-ister of the Federal Republic of Somalia signed the convention in order to rid Somalia of the scourge of child labour, to adopt a child labour policy, develop a national action plan on child labour and produce the statutory instrument to designate hazardous forms of child labour.

The head chef of Village Restaurant and Maryam preparing a meal

Contribution From:ILO Somalia Programme

Nairobi, Garowe, Mogadishu and Hargeisa OfficesEmail: infosomalia@ilo.orgVisit:www.ilosomalia.org

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Training and Capacity Building for Local Economic Development

On the 20th of May, International Labour Organization Somalia organized a 4 days’ Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on Local Economic Development (LED) which was held in Garowe, Puntland. The workshop was part of ILO’s Local Eco-nomic Development initiative under the UN Joint Programme on Local Govern-ance and Decentralization (JPLG) which has recently been expanded to cover some districts in south central Somalia such as Mogadishu, Marka, Baidoa, Beletweyne, and Jowhar.

The workshop brought together repre-sentatives from key Federal Government ministries such as Ministry of Interior and Federal Affairs, the Ministry of Com-merce and Industrialization as well as the Benadir Regional Administration, Soma-lia Chamber of Commerce and Education and Research institutions.

The purpose of the workshop was to train these institutions on the ILO LED ap-proach using a variety of tools and using practical sessions whereby participants were able to learn from Puntland and So-maliland experiences on how to organize a community led development agenda, create awareness and sensitization, ini-tiate public – private dialogue, conduct local economic assessments, develop LED strategies, fundraise and implement LED projects. Using the knowledge and experi-ences acquired, the participants will sup-port ILO to implement LED interventions in the south providing capacity building and technical support to local institutions

and stakeholders and creating a conducive environment for LED works to take off.

At the end of the workshop, notable con-clusions made include the possibility off Somali administrations to pollinate and exchange ideas and practices experi-mented in some districts in Punt land & Somaliland, the vital role of effective lo-cal governments to steer LED thinking in partnership with private sector and the importance attached to legitimate and credible institutions capable to take for-ward employment as a fundamental piece for reconciliation in the transition period.

All the trainees after receiving their Local Economic Development certificates

Nadifo Sheikh Hassan Duale from Ministry of Commerce

and Industry receivng her certificate