CARE International - Somalia/Somaliland

THE BRIDGET PROJECT

Trainees– Ahmed Hussein Abdi

A studious young man, Ahmed Hussein Abdi spends his mornings reading and under-taking self-study. It is this drive to keep learning that has seen him attending HAVOYOCO Training Centre every weekday afternoon since February 2018. One of Somaliland’s newest Road Construction Diploma trainees, Ahmed confirms that he chose this course “because it will open up good opportunities for me.” He is one of thousands of unemployed youth in Somalia/land—at 67%, it has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world. Ahmed has reached 27 years of age without being able to work. “I haven’t been doing anything. When I graduated there weren’t any jobs.” THE BRIDGES project has been established to address youth unemployment through skills that have high market needs. As Somaliland is rebuilding itself following a civil war, economic growth depends on good infrastructure, including roads and energy. The project has worked with the Ministry of Education and the Private Sector to devel-op new curriculums in both roads and renewables—these are now being delivered through Somaliland’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) insti-tutes, including HAVOYOCO.

“The course is very interesting—this is the best part. Along with the way that it is delivered—it is very interactive. This delivery keeps us interested to keep learning.” Ahmed is energised about the role he can play in Somaliland’s development. “With this skill, if I get the relevant documents, I hope to change how roads are constructed. You can see how desperate our roads are. I hope that my qualifications will contribute to the stronger development of our country.” He is realistic about what awaits him upon graduation however, knowing that employment may not come easily. “I may not find an employer straight away. If this is the case, I hope to start my own business. I will start it small and hope that one day, I will own my own construction company.” As our conversation draws to a close, I ask Ahmed what one piece of advice he would give to young people entering skills training. He quickly advises to “choose skills based on the market. I can see that these two skills [roads and renewable energy] will have very good opportunities and I would recommend others to take them on.” --------------------------------- Ahmed is one of 477 young people enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) addressing Roads and Renew-able Energy under CARE’s EU funded TVET and Higher Education (THE) for Boosting Road Infrastructure Development and Growth of Energy Services (BRIDGES) Project. Running from 2016-2019 across Somaliland, Puntland and South Central Somalia, two new curric-ulums (one each for roads and renewables) have been developed and certified by the Ministries of Education. Capacity of the train-ing institutes is also being developed to deliver higher-quality and competency-based training for youth.

THE BRIDGES PROJECT

Trainees– Hamda

Hamda is wearing a headscarf the brightest of yellows—it matches the sun that is beating down on Hargeisa on this windy day in July. As does her illuminous smile. At 25 years old, Hamda is one of Somaliland’s first women to study the new Solar Engineering Diploma at HAVOYOCO Training Centre as part of THE BRIDGES project. She saw the 21-month diploma advertised on CARE’s Facebook page, and applied through the Ministry of Education instantly, knowing that this would be not only an inter-esting course, but a desirable skill for employment. 67% of Somalia/land’s youth are unemployed—this is one of the highest rates in the world. THE BRIDGES project has been established to address youth unemployment through skills that have high market needs. As Somaliland is rebuilding itself following a civil war, economic growth depends on good infrastructure, including roads and energy. The project has worked with the Ministry of Education and the Private Sector to develop new curriculums in both roads and renewables—these are now being delivered through Somaliland’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes, including HAVOYOCO.

Hamda is one of the 67% but has bright hopes for her future and starting up her own Renewable Energy company. “I don’t want to work for anyone else—I am talking with other students about starting up our own company.” Our conversation invariably turns to gender—Hamda is an anomaly in a staunchly patriarchal society. “The community challenges me—they don’t see girls as being engineers. They cannot understand how I will climb ladders and fix things. It is not considered ladies work in Somaliland. But I give them simple examples of how I can do this work. I am committed to come every day and prove them wrong. Girls can be engineers.” And she is successfully proving this point. With a knowing smile, she exclaims that “I fix all of our elec-trical issues at home now—we never need to call out a technician.” A secondary school graduate, Hamda has already defied the odds in Somaliland, where most recent data (2010) shows that just 5% of girls enrol in secondary education. Wiser than her years, she exclaims “I would advise all girls to gain an education—sign up to further education and keep learning. Get targeted skills in anything. It will help you.” Hamda dreams of being a thought and change leader. “I want to change the situation of pollution in Somaliland. We use so much diesel in our generators, and I want to show that you can generate power from the sun. I want to change people’s perspectives.” And she’s well on the way to achieving this. --------------------------------- Hamda is one of 477 young people enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) addressing Roads and Renew-able Energy under CARE’s EU funded TVET and Higher Education (THE) for Boosting Road Infrastructure Development and Growth of Energy Services (BRIDGES) Project. Running from 2016-2019 across Somaliland, Puntland and South Central Somalia, two new curric-ulums (one each for roads and renewables) have been developed and certified by the Ministries of Education. Capacity of the train-ing institutes is also being developed to deliver higher-quality and competency-based training for youth.

THE BRIDGES PROJECT

Trainees– Ahmed

It has been four years since Ahmed graduated from secondary school. Since then, he has not been able to find work. Somalia/land has one of the highest rates of youth unem-ployment in the world—a stark 67%. An ambitious young man, Ahmed is taking matters into his own hands. He is one of So-maliland’s newest Solar Engineer Diploma trainees. He is studying every weekday afternoon at the HAVOYOCO Training Centre in Soma-liland’s capital city, Hargeisa. Aged 24, there is a quiet confidence about Ahmed, and he is using this confidence to better not only himself, but also his country. “Learning these skills, we hope we will make change in our communities.” He signed up to the Diploma after seeing it advertised on CARE’s Facebook page. He was signposted to the Ministry of Education, and immediately enrolled, recognising that “these skills are needed in the market—but it is also my passion and interest. I enjoy phys-ics a lot; this is why I enrolled.” The Solar Engineer Diploma is one of two new Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses that have been established by CARE’s THE BRIDGES project. The

second curriculum that has been developed is on road development. The project has been established to address youth unemploy-ment through skills that have high market needs. As Somaliland is rebuilding itself following a civil war, economic growth depends on good infrastructure, including roads and energy. Ahmed is seeing this course as an opportunity to challenge people’s perceptions. “When I was registering, people told me that elec-trical engineering is hazardous and a risky job to be doing. Now, I can see that it is not dangerous at all. I am enjoying it a lot. With these new skills and the introduction of solar to the market, I hope that in time we can reduce the cost of energy for Somali house-holds.” Ahmed intends to use his new-found knowledge not only to secure employment. “As well as working, I want to concentrate on rais-ing awareness in the community on the importance of solar—the benefits of it in terms of environment, but also cost.” --------------------------------- Ahmed is one of 477 young people enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) addressing Roads and Renew-able Energy under CARE’s EU funded TVET and Higher Education (THE) for Boosting Road Infrastructure Development and Growth of Energy Services (BRIDGES) Project. Running from 2016-2019 across Somaliland, Puntland and South Central Somalia, two new curric-ulums (one each for roads and renewables) have been developed and certified by the Ministries of Education. Capacity of the train-ing institutes is also being developed to deliver higher-quality and competency-based training for youth.