Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2015-12-01, 11:32:17 | version 1.43.00
Commitment 35akzente 2/15 > Contact Andreas König > andreas.koenig@giz.de POPULATION: 4.2 million1 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP): USD 11.3 billion2 ECONOMIC GROWTH: 1.9 per cent3 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX RANKING: 107 (out of 187) Source: 1 3 World Bank 2013, 2 World Bank 2012 JOB PROSPECTS Project: Promoting vocational training and the labour market in the Palestinian territories Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Lead executing agency: Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Palestinian Ministry of Labour TERM: 2011 to 2015 GIZ is improving vocational opportunities for young people in the Palestinian territories. It receives additional financial support from the European Union and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. GIZ is responsible for implementing measures that promote vocational education and training and for coordination with the Palestinian min- istries involved. Objectives include the development of new curricula and training pro- grammes, as well as the higher-level qualifications to which these lead. For example, GIZ provides young Palestinians between the ages of 17 and 30 with courses that ena- ble them to acquire basic skills in a trade. In the West Bank these courses range from agricultural production, animal husbandry and motor mechanics to fashion design, car- pentry, service provision and food processing. In the last four completed classes, 282 out of 558 graduates found employment right after completing the course. Palestinian territories www.giz.de/palestinian-territories on a regular basis. Conversely, Palestinian demonstrations against the occupation of- ten escalate into stone throwing aimed at the settlers and the soldiers stationed there to protect them. For GIZ, there is a direct correlation between vocational education and conflict mitigation. ‘The lack of pros- pects quickly leads to violence,’ explains GIZ Country Director Rudolf Rogg. For this reason, young people are always a focus for joint activities with Palestinian partner ministries in the Palestinian territories. Better opportunities and a higher wage The case of Renal Qawasmeh shows what can be achieved through vocational educa- tion and training. In addition to the man- ual skills trainees acquire, the support measures aim to improve both opportuni- ties for course graduates on the labour mar- ket and their wage prospects. Qawasmeh, for example, had already completed a de- gree course in graphic design before she de- cided to retrain as a pastry chef. ‘Even after two-and-a-half years working as a graphic designer, I was still only taking home around 1,000 shekels (about 230 euros),’ she says. At Omar’s bakery her starting sal- ary is 1,500 shekels per month. ‘And I’ve had other job offers as a pastry chef,’ she says proudly. ‘Society is slowly beginning to respect and appreciate professionalism.’ In the months between graduating and starting work, she baked at home and sold her produce at bazaars or to her neighbours. ‘Word soon got around,’ she laughs. Then one day, one of her neighbours told Omar Sider about her confectionery. Her boss is full of praise: ‘She is amazing.’ And Qawas- meh has hopes of owning her own shop one day. ‘Then I will only employ trained pastry chefs.’ Egypt Jordan Palestinian territories Syria Lebanon Israel Source: 13