Federal Government Of Somalia And United Nations Joint Programme On Youth Employment

Skills development needs to be part of a comprehensive, integrated strategy for inclusive growth. There needs to be greater private sector involvement and skills interventions with a sectoral focus. Skills development must be tailored to the needs and aspirations of the young Somalis as well as the needs of the private sector. It needs to fit within the overarching goal of developing and maintaining a growth trajectory and competitiveness of various sectors of the economy that necessitates a skilled workforce that is aligned to industry requirements.

A comprehensive youth skills package will be provided for youth from different socio-economic backgrounds and according to the skills needs of the selected value chains that will have been analysed. We will utilize existing vocational training centres to deliver competency-based training programmes which respond to the needs of Somali employers, as identified during the value chain study. Beneficiaries will be provided with certification upon the completion of the training.

·         Identifying current and anticipating future skills needs is the first building block of relevant training and skills strategies. Several methods are used to forecast future skills needs. These include: forecasting occupational and skills profiles; labour market information systems and employment services; engagement with the private sector; and assessments of the performance of training institutions and the employment outcomes of their trainees.

·         There exist opportunities for more specific technical and vocational training and entrepreneurship training at various stages of value chains, particularly in input supply and production to promote the inclusion of youth. Lack of skills in particular crafts is one of the biggest problems which can be tackled through the provision of well-designed training courses to increase the productivity of youth. Similarly, opportunities for business start-ups and growth of existing businesses can be facilitated through a comprehensive management/training programme aimed at starting and improving businesses and providing business development services (BDS).

·         It should be noted that youth aspirations are different from what is offered in some sectors, in particular the farming sector. Regardless of the economic opportunities available in the farming sector, young Somali men and women are being utilized as labourers within family farms which youth are not interested in.

·         Key to the project strategy will be making the agriculture sector attractive for youth who are not necessarily looking to be involved in farming. This will be achieved through the involvement of youth in the livestock, input provision and processing stage of the value chains which will be selected. This is because youth will be involved in agriculture when it offers real business opportunities. Farming will also be attractive for youth if it is technology driven. Enhancing timely access to market information and communication, production techniques, new technology and financing opportunities will modernise the farming sector and will take full advantage of a generation of young Somalis who are more technologically inclined, more educated and more willing to taking higher entrepreneurial risks than their elders.

·         It is important that skill development initiatives do not only focus on hard, job-related skills, but also on “soft skills” that are deemed more and more important by employers and are needed for the personal growth of youth. The ‘Youth for Change' initiative of UNDP, UNICEF, and ILO has shown that through psycho-social rehabilitation and skills development, youth can be discouraged from joining criminal and violent groups, can recuperate, and can give something back to their families and communities. This is a process of empowerment that can lead to children going to school and youths taking up vocational training. It shows how such engagement with youth can promote social cohesion and peace. “Soft skills” like leadership, personal financial planning, communication and information technology will encourage development of positive attitudes needed for employment. Other useful life-skills include health information, civic engagement, protection of rights and political inclusion. Psycho-social counselling and support services are necessary for youth who have been victims of violence and need re-integration into society and will be mainstreamed within the life-skills package.

·         Building on a Construction Sector Analysis conducted under the SECIL project, a one-stop youth centre will be established in Mogadishu focusing specifically on construction skills development and building material production combined with life skills training. In order to specifically target young women, the one stop youth centre in Mogadishu will also provide hospitality training.

·         The three satellite centres will be linked to vocational training centres rehabilitated by ILO and will be located in other urban areas than Mogadishu and will provide life skills training only.

·         The main One stop youth centre in Mogadishu and the three satellite centres; this centre  will utilize an integrated approach to youth development by providing both young men and women with safe spaces in urban settings where they can undergo specialized vocational training(in the case of Mogadishu), meet and access information and resources critical to creating livelihoods. The Centre will also offer young men and women a choice of various arts, culture, recreation, and health services. Separate programmes and space for young men and young women will be developed where needed. This component will be expanded based on the needs identified by the city and the youth of Mogadishu.

·         Capacity of Benadir Regional Administration (BRA) to implement youth projects and mainstream youth aspects into local government projects and programmes, in particular the one stop centre, will be strengthened through the establishment and training of a youth unit and a youth advisory board at BRA. The Role of the youth unit and youth advisory board will be established by BRA and FGS but may include mainstreaming youth issues at the local level, policy development (for local government), organisation of youth events, job fairs etc. Both, youth unit and youth advisory board, will be a model for other urban areas to be replicated and scaled up in the second phase of the programme.

In terms of capacity development, relevant government ministries and institutions will acquire institutional and technical capacity development on methods of collection, analysis and storage of labour market and skills data. Their national statistics centre (Minister of Planning and International Cooperation) along with the Ministry statistical units, will be strengthened with technical assistance from a technical expert who will be seconded to the line ministries. This assistance will improve labour market information analysis processes and institutional capacity at the national and regional level. The development of a full-fledged labour market information system will take many years; however, the proposed programme will begin to train ministries and institutions for better collection and analysis of data relevant to developing appropriate skills training programmes for youth employment. Furthermore, tools, equipment and operational support will be provided to vocational training institutions and the one-stop youth centre. Identifying, selecting and training teachers in the development of competency-based curricula, and in the delivery and assessment of these training courses, will be core activities for capacity development of technical vocational training institutions. Furthermore, training managers will be provided with mentoring support to ensure the sustainability of vocational training centres.