Khabar Khair (Only Good News)

     ” Vocational and Business Skills Training and Support” project has started implementing its first training program with the support and funding of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, at a cost of three million dollars. The project is implemented in partnership with The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and The Small and Micro Enterprise Development Agency (SMEPS).

    The project helps improving livelihoods and accessing to productive services for the targeted people by providing training and support in agricultural work, food processing and textiles, in addition to technical skills (carpentry, vehicle maintenance, mobile phones, and devices). The project also provides beneficiaries with the necessary training in business planning and management.

   The project is implemented in eight districts spread over four governorates, Hadhramaut, Lahj, Ibb and Dhamar, with 490 participants in the food industry, 355 participants in textile production, and 190 participants in mobile maintenance skills.

   This training program aims to provide some of the poorest communities in Yemen with the necessary work skills and increase their knowledge in the work and occupations they practice. The “Vocational and Business Skills Training and Support” project helps rural young men and women – between the ages of eighteen and forty- to acquire the skills they need to start their own business and maintain its continuity, in addition to creating economic growth and pushing towards fostering a new culture of entrepreneurship in their communities.

     Helping these young people starting sustainable businesses is not only intended to ensure income for one family, but rather to complement efforts to restore livelihoods, which will contribute to economic recovery in the country.

     Mithaq Abdel Raouf (the trainer of the “My First Business” program which comes as a part of the ” Vocational and Business Skills Training and Support ” project provided by SMEPS Agency (The Small and Micro Enterprise Development Agency) says: “The training focuses on how to start your own business, and through it, trainees are introduced to concepts in entrepreneurship, time and self-management, and planning. “.

    The course focused on the practical steps needed to be taken to make any business successful. For example, the trainees are introduced to how to develop a business plan and help them understand the requirements that their own business needs to be successful.

    The training is further extended to include charges account, revenues, and assets that should be provided to start a small business. Each trainee also receives in-kind assistance that includes basic tools and equipment that help them implement their own projects on the ground.

     Mithaq adds: “We follow trainees in every step they take, until we get them to valuating products, and then understanding profit and loss standards. At the end of the training program, the trainee comes up with a business plan or a feasibility study to help him starting his own business.”

    Participants in various fields receive cognitive training, and this is an initial essential step in the project. Then, participants move to vocational and technical training, where they learn from experienced and professionals in the professions and jobs, they wish to continue and be experienced in.

     As for the last step, the trainees draw up plans for their businesses and get the basic tools and equipment they need to put what they’ve learned into practice. The in-kind support they receive depends on the profession they are trained in. For example, trainees working in mobile phones maintenance receive a support of $ 1,000 at the most.

     Faris Moqbel (a trainee in maawaz (Yemeni Man Skirt) sewing) said “Through the project, we received an in-kind donations of $600 that provides us with the necessary tools and equipment needed to start our own businesses,”.

     Taiba Abdullah (a trainee in pastry making), who will receive an in-kind donation of $700, says, “I have enough knowledge about money management and how to use it to offer something different from products of the market.”

     The participants come daily from different regions and villages of Lahj; to be trained in business management and with one motive, which is to create a different reality for themselves and to help changing the lives of their families for the better.

    “My husband a daily wage earner, and we can barely provide for our basic needs.” This is what Afaf Abadi (a trainee in the pastry making) says, describing their financial situation. This situation is no different from Shams Aidarous’s (a trainee in maawaz (Yemeni Man Skirt) sewing, who says: “We share the house with three families, and none of them has a prominent job.”

      On his part, the trainee, Fares Moqbel, says in a voice full of certainty: “This project will change my life and the life of my family. We used to lead a live of indigence, but now we will live a better life. I am optimistic about my own business of maawaz (Yemeni Man Skirt) sewing, which will take us out of this difficult living situation.”

    As for Neama Ali (a trainee in the pastry making), this project gave her a new feeling about herself. After joining the training course, I felt like a businesswoman. I started learning now and trained on how to manage my business, and now I can improve my living situation by starting my own business. “

Source: UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)