Short info. Promotion of TVET and Labour Market. January 2013

Transcription

1 Promotion of TVET and Labour Market Short info January 2013 Old city of Jerusalem Headlines: The programme farewells Volker Ihde, head of the programme and welcomes Dr. Andreas Koenig Farewell of Volker Ihde Launching of the Palestinian Labour Market Information System (LMIS) Launching of the cofinanced cooperation programme with the Swiss Cooperation (SDC) Ministry of Labour looks forward to implement the National Employment Agency (NEA) Launching of Career Guidance and Counseling in Gaza A big step forward to establish Career Centres at West Bank Universities Self-employment (success story) In one of my meetings in Palestine, and after it came to its end, somebody asked me a weird question. He asked: Who are you?! Frankly spoken, I didn t know how answer! Then I started calling the names of my team; Mohammad, Shireen, Maha, Hiba, Lea, Sabina, Taysir, Zubeidy,. (The whole team). I told him this is my first half and the second one is the appreciated partners. This is who I am. With these words Volker Ihde concluded his farewell event organized in Ramallah at Darna restaurant. In a cozy atmosphere and attendance of main national and international programme partners, ministers, German representative office and GIZ country director, Volker Ihde was deeply thanked and appreciated for the distinctive efforts in leading the programme activities and different components in West bank and Gaza. Your expertise and knowledge have really served and promoted the TVET and labour market sector in Palestine. Results and outcomes achieved by You and Your team are remarkable. We are looking forward that you can still be able to support us after you leave said Dr. Ahmad Majdalani, Minister of Labour. Representatives of EU and SDC wished Volker Ihde the best of luck in his retirement and thanked him for the successful co-financing with the GIZ. On the other side, Dr. Andreas Koenig officially introduced as the new Head of TVET and Labour Market programme. He was warmly welcomed by the guests and the partner ministers expressed their strong commitment towards the cooperation with GIZ in general and the programme in specific. The programme team thanked Volker for the wisdom, efficient and transparent leadership and management that were reflected in many tangible changes, the TVET and labour market sector witnessed. From his side, Dr. Koeing thanked Volker Ihde for the huge efforts he made, the partners support and eventually he expressed his appreciation to the strong programme team. Herausgeber: verantwortlich: Volker Ihde, Head of GIZ-Programme Promotion of TVET & Labour Market Programme House. Al- Hasan Building 4th Floor, P O Box 38383, East Jerusalem 91383, T: +972 (0) /5 Kontakt Redaktion&Layout: Maha Izhiman, E: maha.izhiman@giz.de

2 Volker Ihde with Ministers of Labour & Education Speech of German Rep. Office Speech of Minister of Education Present of Ministry of Labour to Ihde Present of Ministry of Education to Ihde Appreciation reward from partner ministries Present of Ministry of Higher Education With EU representatives With head of Swiss Cooperation Present of programme team Dr. Koenig and Mohammad Malki Dr. Koenig thanking Ihde s efforts

3 Launching of Labour Market Information System (LMIS) Under the Auspices of His Excellency the Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad, Minister of Labour, Dr. Ahmad Majdalani, and in the presence of Mrs. Barbara Wolf, Head of German Representative Office, the launching ceremony of the Palestinian Labour Market Information System (LMIS) took place in Ramallah at the Movenpick Hotel. The Palestinian Labour Market Information System (LMIS) is implemented under the umbrella of Ministry of Labour & aims at creating a dynamic approach for the labour market and the training & education in Palestine in order to provide precise and up to date data on the demand and supply in labour market that would assist the decision makers, the employers and individuals in identifying current Minister of Labour, Barbara Wolf, Head of German Rep. Office and Ihde makers shall efficiently plan the labour market and the education and training system. GIZ contributed to the development of the labour market information system through the provision of local and international expertise and supported the operation of the system by providing all the technical requirements such as devices, servers and computers with a budget of approximately 100,000 US dollars. In addition to the Palestinian ministries, the launching ceremony witnessed the presence and participation of many representatives of national, international and civil organizations. Opening speeches and future needs of different skills and professions. Employment and education and training policies are disciplined through the outcomes of the LMIS. Within the joint efforts towards promoting the employment and employability of youth, MoL in cooperation with GIZ through Promotion of TVET and Labour Market programme, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and a real partnership with different ministries, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Palestinian Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Social Affairs and the General Personnel Council has constructed and developed the Labour Market Information System that will enable job seekers to search for jobs according to their qualifications and experience and to effectively position themselves in the labour market. Employers are also enabled to search the required qualifications to the available vacancies. Researchers and policy In his opening speech, His Excellency Minister of Labour said that the launch of this labour market information system is considered as the most important step within the framework of the implementation of the Employment Strategy. Volker Ihde, Head of GIZ programme added the labour market information system and through the matching between job seekers and vacancies will enable the government to monitor real interactions in the labour market and it will be the powerful tool in the establishment and creation of a monitoring and evaluation system in the labour market He emphasized that the labour market information system LMIS will not be able to achieve efficiency and productivity outcomes unless all relevant ministries and stakeholders are really committed to feed the system with the required data and the support and contribution of employers in terms of expertise and relevant data collection

4 Launching the SDC co-financed Cooperation Project Regional Vocational Centers (Centers of Competence) Within the frame of implementing the TVET strategy and promoting the youth employability in the Palestinian Territories, a new joint cooperation programme between SDC and GIZ is launched in Ramallah under the Auspices of their Excellencies the Minister of Labour, Minister of Education and of Higher Education. This joint cooperation programme intends to support employability of Palestinian youth to meet labour market needs. Mismatching of competences of graduates and vacancies due to unsufficiently qualified youth entering the labour market is still the key problem in the current situation regarding youth employment. Subsequently the unemployment rate of youth in the Westbank remains extremely high (2. Quarter 2012: total 25,9% - 39,7% females / 22,8% males source: PCBS). Combating this problem and its individual and social consequences is the main focus of the joint programme. The high Youth unemployment, especially of women is a major challenge for OPT and the region said Giancarlo de Picciotto, SDC Director of Cooperation. The SDC will contribute 3 Million CHF (approx. 2.5 Mio ) for a 3 years period. With this contribution they are joining forces with GIZ and the EU, who has already been cooperating with the GIZ and TVET Labour Market programme since last year. For the first time in Palestine, three major development partners are in a coordinated manner supporting the implementation of the revised TVET strategy, aiming at a unified comprehensive and permeable TVET system by further developing the whole TVET sector and by allocating a total volume of 11.3 Mio. Volker Ihde, Head of Programme The Objective of the Swiss contribution is to support developing and implementing the new concept of regional Centers of Competence in public and non-governmental TVET institutions in the Westbank. The Centers will be highly specialized in certain vocational families and not only provide up to date training courses complying to international quality standards to their students but furthermore serve as source of assistance to other TVET institutions e.g. by providing teacher training, to the private sector and to the responsible ministries. The program will contribute to the support of the MoE, the MoHE and MoL in design, further development and implementation of their national policies. It will be supported by the Palestinian Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (PFCCIA) and the Palestinian General Federation of the Trade Unions (PGFTU). Giancarlo de Picciotto, SDC cooperation Director From the international point of view this is considered a most important step towards an attractive, relevant and open TVET system offering real chances for employment through strong linkages with the labour market, said Volker Ihde, Head of the GIZ TVET and LM programme.

5 Development of Policy Paper for the National Employment Agency in Palestine In the general context of implementing the national employment strategy, the programme has organized a technical mission in January 2013 to support the Ministry of Labour in development a policy paper of the National Employment Agency (NEA), as the important mandate of the employment strategy. Ministry of Labour lists the implementation of the agency on its agenda and planning. Developing of NEA law and bylaws is estimated as important and should be given a priority. The establishment of the NEA should be based upon a law which determines the base for its objectives, tasks, structure and financial resources; therefore the ministry has requested the technical support and expertise placement to Arabic states, cooperation with private Employment Agencies and the Health Insurance for the unemployed and it will be responsible for administrative and financial matters as Infrastructure (premises, IT), the staffing, Finance monitoring and Auditing. Launching of Career Guidance and Counseling training programme in Gaza Strip In consistency with the TVET and employment national strategies, GIZ through its programme Promoting TVET and LM Market in cooperation with University College of Applied Sciences launched a training programme in Career Guidance and Counseling in Gaza Strip. The target group includes counselors in employment offices, schools, colleges, VTC, universities, NGOs and social organization in Gaza. The training programme aims at developing and promoting the competencies of the counselors by applying the CGC manual developed by GIZ in addition to other sources and enrichment materials of the trainers themselves. One main objective of the training is to acquaint the participants with Kurt Berlinger, The expert to be organized by the programme in this regard. Kurt Berlinger, GIZ expert took over the assignment and jointly with the employment department in MoL, he drafted the policy paper as reference document to develop the law and define bylaws of NEA. The policy paper has to be approved by the minister and then further actions could take place. Before the launching of the law, all stake-holders must be involved to avoid in a later stage obstacles and a rejection of the law. However, the co-operation of the inclusion of the different stakeholders must be made clear who does what, when and how and the roles of the stakeholders must be defined. This should be discussed with the relevant institutions as quick as possible. The NEA is the Administrative Body for the Ministry of Labour for tasks to be assigned by the Ministry, e.g. External labour force as work permits for Israel or The participants on the course the developed national strategies, their instruments and the implementation process. Output of this training can be formulated as provision of qualified counselors with the necessary competencies to offer adequate services to the students, graduates, job seekers and others. This current training is conducted for 25 participants but the complete programme will be concluded upon upgrading qualifications of 150 counselors.

6 A big step forward to establish Career Centres at West Bank Universities These centres are aiming to raise the awareness of students and graduates for the available opportunities in the labor market, that commensurate with their specialties. Another task will be equipping students them with additional skills to enable them to compete more effectively in the labor market. From old city of Jerusalem Volker Ihde and Minister of Labour sign the MoUs Under the auspices of their Excellencies the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Higher Education and as a result of a joint process started end of 2012, a ceremony was held at the Red Crescent Conference Centre in Ramallah to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish career centres at Palestinian Universities. Partners are the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Higher Education and the GIZ on one side and all West Bank Universities of the on the other side. The Centers will be directly responsible for provision of career information and counseling for the students and graduates, training on different life skills, encouraging entrepreneurship, mediating in finding part-time or temporary jobs for students seeking to work while studying and updating the Labour Market Information System (LMIS) with students and graduates information. These measures are meant to reduce the unemployment rate among graduates and achieve better alignment and harmony between the educational system and the needs of the labor market. Training young people at the universities directly for unemployment is not only a crime against their future but also an economic disaster. It has to be a priority for all of us to support the Palestinian youth and ensuring a future for them. stated Volker Ihde, GIZ, Head of Programme "Promotion of TVET and Labour Market". The intervention is in line with the National Employment Strategy which was approved at the end of the year Through the CBTSEC courses conducted by the GIZ in Hebron, I could start my own business. said Bilal Al-Sous, one of the beneficiaries of Community Based Training for Self-employment and Enterprises Creation conducted in Heron I always wanted to have my own business; but as I lack the technical and managerial skills and competencies I couldn t, until I joined the GIZ training programme CBTSEC in the field of agriculture in Hebron city. After the training I made huge efforts seeking funding for implementing my own business. I always wanted to have a Plastic Greenhouse and now I am determined to achieve it. I planted spinach and watercress and they were of high quality and efficiently competed with other producers. The first time my products are sold in the market, I gained 500 USD Bilal Al-Sous