The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a five-month professional training cycle for 20 youths in Djibouti to learn how to install and repair solar panels.
The objective of the training, which is to prepare participants for productive employment, is in line with number eight of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’, the SDG eight reads.
According to WFP, the aim of the training is to equip young Djiboutians with in-demand skills for the modern job market.
Figures from the World Bank show that the unemployment rate of Djibouti for 2020 was at 11.6 percent, up from 11 percent in 2019.
Development Diaries gathered that the WFP, the Djibouti Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity, and the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training jointly launched the training.
‘[WFP, the Djibouti Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity and Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training] at the Technical High School of Djibouti launched the 5-month Pro Training cycle for 20 participants to install [and] repair solar panels’, WPF Country Director in Djibouti, Mary Njoroge, tweeted.
Data from the WFP shows that the country’s poverty rates stand at 79 percent, with 42 percent of the Djibouti population living in extreme poverty.
The World Bank also notes that entrepreneurship has strong potential to generate employment for all working age people especially youth and women in Djibouti.
The WFP had announced the training of 60 out-of-school Djiboutians and refugees in supply chain and logistics last month in a bid to engender entrepreneurship in the country.
Also, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently conducted business and entrepreneurial training for 50 innovators and entrepreneurs in Djibouti.
For its part, the Chamber of Commerce of Djibouti (CCD) has been spearheading the development of entrepreneurship activities in the country. But the CCD, it is understood, lacks resources and capacity to have large-scale impact and outreach.
Source: Mary Njoroge
Photo source: Mary Njoroge
