At least 86 students graduated after six months of training in various disciplines at the Aweil Vocational Centre in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State on Tuesday.
The graduates, 37 males and 49 females, learned tailoring, hairdressing, computer skills, carpentry, building, mechanics, and engineering.
The training was implemented by the Action Children Development Foundation (ACDF) and funded by Germany in partnership with World Vision International.
Speaking at the ceremony in Aweil, Action Children Development Foundation Project Manager Angelo Uguak Aron said the graduates will receive start-up kits to make them self-reliant.
“We are graduating 86 students, 37 males and 49 females, who have completed five trades: tailoring, carpentry, hairdressing, automobile mechanic, and ICT,” he said. “We have not only graduated them with soft and hard skills, but we are also issuing them with start-up kits.”
For his part, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Education Minister Akoon Diing Angok urged the graduates to use their knowledge to make a living and create jobs.
“They have already received the knowledge, and they are ready to go to the field. This is a great achievement which has to be recognized,” he stated. “I also want to recognize the brain behind the implementation of this project.”
Meanwhile, the area manager of World Vision in Northern Bahr Ghazal State, Joseph Tomboy Rebort, said the training impacted young people with skills to enable them to survive in the market.
“We want to transform the capacity of women and youth so that they can be able to engage in other income-generating activities to make use of their skills,” he said. “If they have sources of livelihoods, they will be able to sustain their families.”