The African Development Bank (AFDB), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday launched the support to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Project aimed at empowering the youth with technical skills to spur economic development.
Speaking during the launch at the University of Juba, Fauzi Haji, Officer in Charge of the AFDB Office in South Sudan, said the project aims to create an enabling environment for diversified and resilient economic development, reducing fragility, and instability with a priority on supporting agriculture, value chain development for economic diversification and resilience.
“We are committed to developing skills necessary for improving economic competitiveness, diversification, and job creation,” she stated. “Our support to skills prioritizes the development of demand-driven middle-level technical skills that promote high-value added economic activities and self-employment.”
Haji said it is a USD 9.3 million project and the overall goal is to increase access to quality middle-level technical skills for South Sudanese youths and built a robust TVET system in South Sudan with the ultimate aim of enhancing value chain development of youth employability.
For his part, Tap Raj Pant, UNESCO Juba office Education Specialist, said the project will run for five years, targets 30,000 beneficiaries, and has the components for creating training facilities in which they will be working with the University of Juba to assist in the training.
“We will be working with the University of Juba and the Department of Applied Sciences and we will be establishing lecture rooms, and laboratories and will be equipping them with the equipment and once we do this, we will train the faculty members,” he revealed. “After which we will have the first cohort who will enroll for the agriculture extension program and they will be graduated.”
Raj added: “If we effectively implement this project, we will productively engage more youths and that will lessen peace distortion activities and insecurity in the country because the majority of youths have no education, are unemployed and they do not know what is wrong and what is right for them.”