INTERSOS - Increasing Livelihood Opportunities for both Yemenis and Refugees in Yemen Through Access to Gainful Employment, Education and Vocational Training

Some 250’000 refugees – predominantly Somalis – have been registered in Yemen over the past two decades. The Government of Yemen (GoY) recognises all Somalis who arrive in the country as prima facie refugees. They are free to remain in Yemen and benefit from UNHCR and its imple­menting partners’ assistance. Their main needs remain related to the lack of livelihood and eco­nomic self-reliance opportunities and the scarce access to psychosocial and legal services. The large and increasing numbers of irregular migrants and the number of refugees from the Horn of Afri­ca pose a major challenge to Yemen, which al­ready suffers from unemployment and the highest poverty level in the Arabian Peninsula. With continuing high population growth (both Yemenis and migrants), Yemen urgently needs employment opportunities for the growing number of young people seeking to enter the labour market. The GoY recognises that developing its Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) system and small enterprises promotion is one of the best solutions to overcome the economic and social difficulties the country is facing at present.

To enhance economic self-reliance and livelihood opportunities among young refugees and Yemenis in Yemen.

Beneficiaries of the phase will primarily be 60 refugees enrolled in September 2014 for two years at the TEVT institutes as well as 200 Yemeni students who will have access to the new vocations (25 students for the 2 new vocations per year in 4 institutes) in September 2015, and MOTEVT, since at least 40 teachers of MOTEVT and TEVT curricula department and experts of MOTEVT will be trained.

In the mid-term, all students, both Yemenis and refugees, enrolled in the MOTEVT courses and trainings will benefit from the initiative as well as MOTEVT, which will have improved its capacities in the delivery of services and enhanced relevance of its courses in relation to the labour market.

1. Outcome 1: The self-reliance and integration of refugees in Yemen has improved through access to and successful completion of formal technical education and vocational training courses.
2. Outcome 2: The capacity of formal TEVT institutes in absorbing students, particularly female students has increased, and new vocational training courses relevant to the labour market have been created.

Risultati principali attesi:  

• Output 1.1: 60 refugees are newly integrated into the formal TEVT institutes for 2 years as of September 2014.
• Output 1.2: the 60 refugees are enrolled and tutored during their studies. and
  
• Output 1.3: 50% of graduated refugee students have improved their self-reliance as compared to before the education.
• Output 2.1: 2 new vocations relevant to the labour market are created and set-up.
• Output 2.2: The courses for the 2 new vocations are running as of September 2015 in 4 TEVT institutions in Aden, Sana’a, Mukalla, and Ta’izz for yearly 200 new students.

Risultati fasi precedenti:  

The intervention is part of a broader pilot program that INTERSOS has been implementing in Yemen since 2010 in collaboration with UNHCR and the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training (MOTEVT). Here are the main results of Phase 1:

• 3 TEVT departments, i.e. beauty salon/hair­dressing in Aden, fashion design in Ta’izz, and aluminium blacksmith in Mukalla have been set up and are fully equipped and operative.
• Since September 2013, the 3 TEVT institutes in Aden, Ta’izz and Mukalla are able to host 75 new students (yearly) among from the refugee and Yemeni population.
• Only 45 (and not 50) refugee students could be recruited during the phase. 10 of them dropped out (= 35 students) because they did not pass the exams or received scholarships from the Embassy of Somalia to attend a 4 years university study.
• As of September 2013, those remaining 35 refugee students (18 males and 17 females) were regularly tutored and supervised by professional staff and supported through scholarships. They are supposed to terminate their education in September 2014.

• UNHCR with all its implementing partners active in the field of vocational training, education or higher education for refugees (economic self-reliance);
• The Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training (MOTEVT) and its TEVT institutes; the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (MOSAL); the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC);
• The Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Small and Medium Enterprises, Agency for Small and Micro Enterprise Promotion.

Fase 2 01.07.2014 - 31.12.2015   (Completed)