Ramallah, Palestine – Yusra al-Juneidi, a graduate of the Hotel Management program at al-Tireh Institute, a vocational training institute in Ramallah, found work as a chef at a restaurant in the city after participating in “Start Work,” a USAID-supported training program aimed at developing youth’s employability skills.
Prior to that, the 20-year old woman from the Wad al-Jouz neighborhood in East Jerusalem had not had much luck in finding a job after graduation.
Yusra credits her enhanced communications skills, gained through the “Start Work” training, for helping her to both get her foot in the door for an interview and making a positive impression on the owner of the newly-established Values Restaurant in Ramallah. “This opportunity opened many doors in front of me and helped me in dealing with others,” she says.
Yusra is one of more than 550 young Palestinians who benefited from the “Start Work” National Job Fairs program, which provides employability training and facilitates job placement opportunities for out-of-school youth. “Start Work” is implemented by Sharek Youth Forum, an NGO that supports the economic, social, cultural and political development of Palestinian youth, under a grant from the International Youth Foundation’s Youth Entrepreneurship Development program. The four-year, USD $15 million USAID program aims to improve employability and entrepreneurship opportunities for young Palestinians by partnering with relevant Palestinian youth-serving institutions across the public, private, and civil society sectors.
The “Start Work” program builds upon Sharek’s well-established reputation for providing Palestinian youth with quality training to strengthen their work readiness skills and improve their employment prospects in a challenging job market. Youth between 20 – 24 years of age have the highest rates of unemployment in Palestine: in the second quarter of 2011, 33% were unemployed. However, in the first month after completing the job fairs, the “Start Work” program had already assisted 28 youth to find jobs and another 16 to secure internship opportunities.
Programs like “Start Work” offer youth opportunities to pursue their career goals: Yusra sees her newly-acquired job at Values as a first step in realizing her dreams of owning a hotel franchise. “Since I started college I was thinking every day about my future, and if I can find a job or not, especially when I see many students who finished college before me and stayed at home because there is no work for them. This opportunity gave me hope for my future.”
Another “Start Work” participant, Rawan Abu-Ajaj, is a 20 year-old woman from Ramallah. She also earned a diploma from al-Tireh Institute in Hotel Management and Tourism, and like Yusra, she participated in the “Start Work” training in order to strengthen her communication and management skills to prepare for employment.
Following the training, Rawan obtained a job as a receptionist and administrative assistant for Values Restaurant. She feels that her ability to earn a salary immediately after graduation has had a positive impact on her self-confidence, and has not only increased her financial independence but helped her family as well: “This opportunity has benefited me a lot and reduced some of the financial burden on my family.”
Yusra’s and Rawan’s experiences demonstrate the impact that these training opportunities can have on promoting youth empowerment and developing the skills necessary for young people to find success in the workplace. Their common experiences also underscore the long-term positive effect of such interventions on families and communities. And, by recognizing the importance of well-trained staff, the owner of Values Restaurant is getting true “value” from the staff he hired who had participated in the USAID-supported program.
