Doha-based Silatech and Somali NGO Shaqodoon recently concluded a programme in Hargeisa, Somaliland, training 12 local advisers to implement the Tamheed career guidance programme.
The four-day programme was the first ever Tamheed training to be held in the Somali
territories.
Silatech is a regional social initiative that works with partners throughout the Arab world to promote large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship, access to capital and markets, and the participation and engagement of young people in economic and social development. Since being founded in 2008, Silatech has financed over 104,000 youth-owned businesses and created or sustained over 134,000 jobs.
Developed jointly by Silatech and UK-based Mindmill, Tamheed is a career guidance programme that analyses the personality and aptitudes of young people, and then helps align these with available career paths.
Tamheed is currently available through Silatech partnerships with universities, NGOs and government institutions in Qatar, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Syria, Saudi Arabia and now Somalia.
The Tamheed career guidance training comes as part of a larger partnership between Silatech, Shaqodoon and the American Refugee Committee, signed in June 2014 to develop a network of “One-Stop Shop” (OSS) centres for youth employment and business support services.
Located in the main city centres of Hargeisa, Bosaso and Mogadishu, and easily accessible to both youth and employers, the OSS centres serve as knowledge and career guidance hubs for young job-seekers and entrepreneurs as well as for employers looking for skilled youth.
Services available for job-seekers through these OSS centres include soft skills training, Tamheed career guidance and work placement as well as financial literacy training. Young entrepreneurs are able to access entrepreneurship training, business development services and linkages with partner
micro-finance institutions.
Twelve students took part during the last day of training, providing an opportunity for the newly-trained advisers to conduct career counselling sessions aimed at helping them choose a career.
According to one student, Fahad Shaker, “This system is almost ‘magical’ in that it reflected my personality and behaviour as they really are. Please make an effort to continue this kind of service for youth.”
Youth unemployment in the Arab world stands at 28% - the highest for any region in the world. Although they comprise around two-third of the labour force, the unemployment rate among young Somalis is one of the highest in any country in the world. According to a 2012 UNDP report, unemployment among Somalis aged 14-29 years was 67%.
Shaqodoon provides Somali youth with skills training, access to work, internships and self-employment opportunities.
The American Refugee Committee is an international humanitarian organisation that has worked in Somalia since 2011, offering services to improve the well-being of families and
communities.
Silatech and Shaqodoon volunteers with local advisers.
